Ubisoft polls interest in a non-Assassin's Creed pirate game

As Ubisoft is going full-steam ahead on its annualised Assassin's Creed franchise, it's been polling fans to see where they'd like to see the series head - or perhaps, where they'd like to see an all new series spawn from Black Flag's high seas adventures.

According to a fan survey obtained by IGN, Ubisoft is asking fans if they'd like to see a new IP about pirates rather than incorporating the privateer theme into an increasingly difficult to follow series.

The survey asks players what's most important to them between a customisable lead character, ship, and hideout, a deeper economy, or additional activities either on land or sea. It also asks how players would feel about adding multiplayer to naval combat, both competitively and in co-op.

This is something lead multiplayer game designer Tim Browne wanted to add to Assassin's Creed 4, but ultimately found "impossible" for "technical reasons." Perhaps these reasons won't be relevant for a game designed for next-gen hardware?

Additionally, the survey asks players what they'd like to see from Assassin's Creed in the future. One questions asks how they'd feel about introducing a new modern day player character ala Desmond as opposed to Black Flag's silent, first-person protagonist. Answers include: "Must have," "would be nice," and "not interested."

The survey goes on the ask players to rank their three most important "must have" features. Some of the leaked options include:

• Playing as a new assassin, in a different historical time period
• More stealth gameplay sequences
• The possibility to influence the look and feel of the city through my progression in the game
• More famous historical characters to meet/befriend/fight
• More assassination missions
• Ability to extend the game experience on my mobile or tablet
• The possibility to seamlessly enter and explore more buildings and houses

This is not the first time Ubisoft has polled its audience for feedback on the series. Back in 2011 it asked players where it would like its series to go, though none of the options were actually used in any of the Assassin's Creed games since then.