Ubisoft announces the opening of its 18th internal development studio in Singapore, largely influenced by the country’s excellent technological infrastructure, thriving local game development industry and quality of its universities and training institutions.

Ubisoft reported its sales for the 3rd fiscal quarter 2007 revealing sales are up about 50% compared to last year, fueled by Assassin's Creed and its causal line of titles, beating its own guidance by nearly 10%. Uncertainty regarding Haze continues as the recent retail date changes turn out to be unsubstantiated with Ubisoft's vague "will now be released in fiscal 2008-09," meaning April 2008 at the earliest. Also revealed are new titles in the Prince Of Persia and Anno franchises.

Ubisoft announces that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Japanese development studio Digital Kids. With offices in Nagoya and Osaka, Digital Kids currently has a team of 20 developers specialized in games for the NDS which has worked regularly for a number of Japanese publishers and developed several titles for Ubisoft’s Petz line of games, including Hamsterz Life.

Ubisoft announced has signed an agreement with Namco Bandai Europe to distribute Soulcalibur IV on the X360 and PS3, and Soulcalibur Legends exclusively on Wii. Both games will hit stores across Europe and other PAL territories in summer 2008.

Ubisoft raised its guidance for fiscal 2007-08, mainly due to Assassin's Creed's record sales performance, which is expected to sell 5 million units through next year, and updated its games release schedule to reveal delays for Brothers In Arms Hell's Highway, Far Cry 2 and Tom Clancy's EndWar.

A boxing game with realistic boxing action and intuitive controls, Victorious Boxer Challenge, also known as Victorious Boxers: Revolution, takes full advantage of the unique capabilities of the Wiimote and Nunchuk to give players an authentic, real-life boxing experience.

Ubisoft released its results for the six months ended Sept. 30, 2007, reporting sales are up 52%, driven by Assassin's Creed, which has already surpassed 1 million units sold, as well as Beowulf, Naruto and Rayman 2. Ubisoft also revealed that Rainbow Six Vegas 2 will be released during the Q4 of fiscal 2007-08, which will unfortunately be joined by Haze (originally due Q3). Splinter Cell Conviction has also been pushed until fiscal 2008-09 (second half of 2008).

Ubisoft announced that it has concluded an agreement to acquire Japanese game development studio Digital Kids, an NDS specialized team formed in 1996, known for such titles as Ubisoft’s Petz line of games, including Hamsterz Life.

Ubisoft sales report for the six months ending Sept. 30, 2007, reveals it beat expectations with a 52% increase compared to last year fueled by GRAW 2 (PSP, PS3), Jam Session (NDS), Blazing Angels 2, The Settlers and Surf's Up. Oddly enough, Ubisoft also decided to push four unannounced titles into 2008, stating its current lineup is strong enough for the coming holiday season. An updated release list indicates a possible delay for Nitrobike, as it is no longer listed.

Last month, speculation ran wild when Eidos' parent company SCi revealed that it was in early stages of talks with several interested parties to take over the UK publisher/developer. One of the possible but unconfirmed buyers was said to be Ubisoft, but today, a spokesperson stated that it "has no intention of making an offer for SCI-Eidos."

Ubisoft revealed its holiday lineup of titles, ranging from Haze, Nitrobike, to Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 and Beowulf. While Assassin's Creed is still in the lineup for PS3 and Xbox 360, it seems the PC version has been pushed until early 2008.

Ubisoft revealed that it has signed a publishing agreement with Grasshopper to bring its open-world action game No More Heroes to North America. You play the role of Travis Touchdown, a hardcore anime fan who takes it upon himself to murder the top assassin's in the world, using the Wiimote to wield Travis' beam sword and kill off enemies in gruesome ways.

Ubisoft has opened a new development studio in Chengdu, Sichuan, China, and appointed Richard Tsao, previously senior producer at Ubisoft’s Shanghai studio, as managing director. Ubisoft Chengdu will initially focus on internal outsourcing and in time will be responsible for developing online titles for PC, consoles and handhelds.

Microsoft announced that Ubisoft was the latest to join the Games for Windows branding program. The first title Ubisoft will deliver is The Settlers: Rise of an Empire.

Ubisoft has released screens and trailers for its upcoming titles:

• 'Assassin's Creed' [ALL] - Features & Screens
• 'Brothers In Arms Hell's Highway' [ALL] - 6 New Screens
• 'HAZE' [ALL] - Features & Screens
• 'Naruto: Rise of a Ninja' [X360] - Features & Screens
• 'Tom Clancy's EndWar' (ALL) - 2 New Screens
• 'Beowulf' (PSP/PS3/X360/PC) - Screens
• 'Far Cry 2' - 16 New Screens
• 'Heroes of Might & Magic V: Tribes of the East' - Screens & Trailer
• 'Dark Messiah Of Might And Magic: Elements' (X360) - 5 New Screens
• 'Rayman Raving Rabbids 2' - Screens & Trailer

With a Prince of Persia movie in the works, an Assassin's Creed short story bring made, it is no surprise that Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot confirmed at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival that it plans to expand into film production and book publishing. "We will start making movies not because we want to, but because this is what we have to do," Guillemot said "If we don't, we will not be able to take advantage of the next generation."

Ubisoft announced that it will publish Chessmaster: The Art of Learning (NDS) and Chessmaster: Grandmaster Edition (PC). In both games, Josh Waitzkin, International Master and eight-time National Chess Champion, coaches players to grasp the basic fundamentals of chess and to master the game through exciting courses and tutorials.

A contract clause rewarding long time share holders resulted in Electronic Arts increasing the amount of Ubisoft shares it owns to 24.86 % (up from 20 % in 2004) according to Forbes.com. This technically means EA now has more shares in Ubisoft than the actual founders, as the Guillemot family has only 22.8%.

In Namco Bandai's latest installment to the popular RPG Tales franchise, Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology, players will create a hero to embark on a valiant quest to save the land of Terresia from the gripping force of a powerful evil, set on destruction.

Yesterday Ubisoft announced it signed a deal with FOX/James Cameron to develop a game based on the upcoming Avatar movie, but it seems the French developer/publisher is in the running for yet another blockbuster. Scheduled to be unveiled at Comic Con later this week, Ubisoft is reportedly closing a deal with NBC to develop a game based on the TV superhero series Heroes.

Ubisoft released its sales figures for Q1 ended June 30, 2007, reporting that sales came to $180.66M, up 90.5% compared with the same period last year, driven by Rainbow Six Vegas, Surf's Up, and its back catalog. Unfortunately, it also revealed that Splinter Cell Conviction has been delayed until January-March of 2008.

Ubisoft announced that it will develop/publish the game based on 20th Century Fox's Avatar, the story of an ex-Marine who finds himself thrust into hostilities on an alien planet filled with exotic life forms, written and directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker James Cameron (Titanic, Aliens, Terminator, etc...).

Ubisoft released screens and trailers for its upcoming titles:

• Assassin's Creed [ALL] - Features & Screens
• Brothers In Arms Hell's Highway [ALL] - Features & Screens
• HAZE [ALL] - Features & Screens
• Jam Sessions [NDS] - Features & Screens
• My Word Coach [NDS/Wii] - Screens
• Naruto: Rise of a Ninja [X360] - Features & Screens
• Nitrobike [Wii] - Features, Screens & Trailer
• Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 [NDS/Wii] - Features & Screens

Ubisoft announced its Imagine series of games, which will allow girls aged 6 to 14 to explore their favorite interests and hobbies. The first games will launch in October 2007 for the Nintendo DS: Imagine Fashion Designer, Imagine Animal Doctor, Imagine Babyz and Imagine Master Chef. Imagine Figure Skater will follow in early 2008.

Today Ubisoft released their schedule for all its blockbuster titles that are due before year's end. Seems the French developer/publisher is going all out starting in September but mainly November is title heavy. Curiously enough the previous Haze PS3 exclusivity last a mere 7 days. Read more for details ...