The first Assassin's Creed may be celebrating its ninth birthday this month, but its visuals have held up pretty well for a game almost a decade old. In 2014, modder Hecumarine's graphics overhaul brought Alta r's debut in-line aesthetically with 2011's Revelations the latest update of which improves its looks further still.

"You may ask why all the effort? Is the final version not enough? I thought so myself, but when I increased the resolution of the textures for the first time, I saw the huge difference, and so it motivated me to keep the mod growing," says Hecumarine on ModDB. "Not only that, I also improved a lot of particles, fixed many ugly things and added some new textures in the latest version. I even analysed every city in the game and improved the atmosphere even more. Even the colour palette was reworked again so that you don't need to use SweetFX anymore."

Particle effects, as Hecumarine says, look better especially tied to smoke and fire. Texture resolution has now been doubled jumping from 256 256 to 512 512, and 512 512 to 1024 1024 and colour correction has been tweaked. Certain NPC skins have been adjusted too.

The list of alterations the Assassin's Creed Overhaul Mod applies can be read in full via ModDB, however the following slider screens show the latest update's improvements over its 2015 incarnation.

Thanks, VG24/7, DSOGaming.

We're not getting a new Assassin's Creed game this year, but we are getting the first Assassin's Creed film. As the new trailer below demonstrates, it shares a lot in common with its source material: there is a bonkers sci-fi backdrop to the more foregrounded historical shenanigans, and there's lots of frolicking between the rooftops of historical buildings. Oh, and some guy gets his throat cut as well.

Directed by Justin Kurzel and starring Michael Fassbender, the Assassin's Creed movie is looking pretty decent, as far as film adaptations of games go. Kurzel's responsible for one of the most sickening independent Australian films in recent memory, and the art direction looks quite impressive based on the footage below. Assassin's Creed releases to cinemas on December 31.

It was rumored in January, and then effectively confirmed in February, that despite releases in the franchise coming every year since 2009, a new Assassin's Creed game would not come out in 2016. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said at the time that the long-term goal was not to "come back to an annual cycle, but to come back on a regular basis" when the series returned, which it was assumed would happen sometime in 2017. But Tommy Francois, Ubi's vice president of editorial, told IGN that it may take even longer than that to get things back on track.

"We believe alpha for these games needs to be one year before release. We're trying to achieve that. That's super fucking blunt, I don't even know if I'm allowed to say this. This is the goal we're going for: Alpha one year before [release], more quality, more polish," he said. "So if this means biting the [bullet] and not having an Assassin's game, or a Far Cry [in 2017], fuck it."

Getting to an alpha state as quickly as possible is vital, he explained, "because the more time we have for this the more polish we have, the more time we can change, refine, swap systems. You just can't take shortcuts."

He also clarified that the pause isn't an attempt to dodge over-saturation Francois said Far Cry has "only been going up in sales" but strictly a creative decision, to give studios a chance to get away from the usual "Ubisoft open-world formula" and try different things. "I do think we need to break that formula," he said. "This year we've given Far Cry and Assassin's some time to decant, innovate, and polish. The objective behind this is exactly that."

Ubisoft hasn't been shy about delaying other major projects in recent months, either: In August it pushed back two planned Division expansions in order to focus on straightening out the core game, and earlier this month it pushed South Park: The Fractured But Whole, which had been slated for a December release, into early 2017.

Work continues apace on the Assassin's Creed film, as evidenced by the half-dozen (plus one) stills that recently appeared on The Playlist. Most of them are fairly standard Hollywood fare: Michael Fassbender, as Aguilar the Assassin, looks stoically into the distance; Michael Fassbender rides a horse; Michael Fassbender draws a bow. But one is not like the others, and may offer a hint about the movie's Big Surprise Twist.

I have to give credit to GamesRadar for this one, because I'm not enough of an Assassin's Creed fan to have noticed it myself. The last picture in the list features the Assassin standing in what appears to be ( is definitely, according to Radar) the Templar HQ at Abstergo, where Callum Lynch has been playing with the Animus. Thus, the theory goes, it's not actually Aguilar but Lynch, his descendant, suffering from the Bleeding Effect caused by Animus use, and now an Assassin (or at least part-way there) himself. Shenanigans follow, as they tend to in modern action flicks.

(The trailer released in May also makes it clear that there's some trouble at the Templar henhouse, so it wouldn't be at all surprising to see Lynch go full Assassin at some point.)

Assassin's Creed hits the big screen on December 21. You may share your countervailing theories about what's going to happen in the comments.

Preordering videogames has been a thing for years, and now preordering movies based on videogames is, too. Kernel, a site that provides curated offers on anticipated movies, games and events, is offering seven different packages for the Assassin's Creed film, with prices ranging from $15 to *rubs eyes incredulously* $1200.

The $15 base package gets you a ticket, a digital copy of the script (delivered when the film comes out), and behind-the-scenes extras. For $25, you can add a t-shirt to the package, and $40 gets you all of the above plus a collectible digital watch. At the upper end of the scale, there's a $600 package featuring a Premiere Scale Statue of Aguilar, and one for $1200 that includes a full-scale replica of the crossbow used in a pivotal scene."

A few weeks before the movie's release date, the movie studio and the theaters will release showtime information. The moment that happens, we will send you a code unique for you to pick your theater and seats on our ticketing partner's website, MovieTickets.com, the FAQ explains. After that's happened, you'll be able to select your seats (assuming the theater in question supports designated seating, I suppose) and add more tickets to your purchase.

Now all they have to do is figure out how to cram some DLC in there. Alternate endings for $2 each, maybe? Remember, you read it here first. And if you think nobody's going to fall for this, think again: Kernel originally offered eight preorder tiers, but the $50 package, with a Funko Pop and 4-6 curated collectibles, is already sold out.

The Assassin's Creed film hits screens on December 21. Have a look at the first trailer here.

Thanks, GameSpot.

Assassin's Creed is definitely getting a movie, and here's the first trailer for it. Ubisoft's longrunning historical saga has been poised to hit cinemas for years now, and it's been so long that it seemed like maybe they'd forgotten about it. Never fear though, because the film tidily named "Assassin's Creed" is set to launch on December 21.

As you'll see in the trailer embedded above, it doesn't depart dramatically from what we've come to expect from the video game: there is a serious man protagonist, there is lots of climbing and running, and several people cop daggers in the throat. The protagonist will travel back in time to the Spanish Inquisition, taking the form of an ancestor who, predictably enough, can climb and stab really well.

If you're a fan of the series, this is all you'll have to look forward to in 2016, as Ubisoft has already confirmed that it won't publish a major new video game instalment this year.

Assassin's Creed creator Patrice Desilets' history with Ubisoft hasn't been entirely smooth and happy. In 2010, he left Ubisoft Montreal “to take a creative break from the industry,” as Ubi told GameInformer, and when he returned it was not to the warm embrace of his former employer but rather to THQ. When THQ collapsed, Ubisoft bought out its Montreal studio—Désilets included—and acquired control of 1666 Amsterdam, the project he was working on the time. Then it fired him.

In response, Désilets sued Ubisoft, and based on the statement he linked to on Twitter earlier today, he's come out on top. Technically, he's withdrawn his complaint, but it's hard not to see it as a victory, as he's been given full rights to the game, as he wanted, and will “have all creative and business control over the project.”

Friends, Ubi and I agreed, I got it back! :) https://t.co/lKqj5enJth #1666Amsterdam pic.twitter.com/Z19MLwdgEYApril 25, 2016

“This agreement is good news for everyone,” Ubisoft Montreal CEO Yannis Mallat said. “Ubisoft's creative teams are currently working on innovative projects that will mark our industry for years to come. This is precisely where we want to focus our energy, on our teams, to continue what we have been building in Quebec for nearly 20 years.”

Maybe I'm reading too much into it but I think I detect a slight whiff of sour grapes in that statement, specifically the implication that Ubi is only giving up the property because it doesn't have the resources to do anything with it in the foreseeable future. In any case, each side wished the other well, as you do, and that's the end of that. But those of you expecting a quick revival of the game might want to dial back your expectations, because Désilets' hands are apparently full right now too.

“I will now devote myself entirely to the development of Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, my next game with Panache Digital Games,” he said. “This is what matters most to me today: Making the best games and showing the world the creative talent of Quebecers.”

Ancestors, according to the description at the Panache Games website, is a third-person action-adventure survival game that will let players “relive the greatest moments of mankind with a documentary twist.” There's not much more than that to see, though, and the site is hurting for updates, too: It currently promises “much more to come in 2015.”

Assassin s Creed is getting a tie-in VR experience later this year, but whatever a VR experience is, according to co-developer Practical Magic it s not a game.

Just announced: Assassin's Creed VR experience - based on the film - is coming this year from FOX & Practical Magic. pic.twitter.com/YZUCJwfPY3

— Ubisoft (@Ubisoft) March 15, 2016

Technically, it s a spinoff of a spinoff by Practical Magic and Fox based around the Assassin s Creed movie starring Michael Fassbender that's due to arrive around Christmastime. All we know at this point is that the historical (and I use that word lightly) side of the film will take place in the 15^th century. Here s Fassbender looking over a 15^th-century roof.

Whether we ll be turning our heads to look around various locations in the film (like the Jack the Ripper trailer for Assassin s Creed: Syndicate) or just admiring the Fass from various angles, Ubisoft must be convinced that it s far enough from a game not to break its pledge to allow Assassin s Creed a year-long rest.

We know Assassin's Creed won't get a major instalment in 2016, which has been interpreted as Ubisoft giving its long-labouring series a year off. But according to Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, it isn't as simple as that: by the sound of things, the publisher is rethinking its approach to rolling out sequels.

Speaking at a Ubisoft Investor's Day, Guillemot indicated that, while a 2017 Assassin's Creed seems inevitable, that might not necessarily hold true for 2018. "The goal is not to automatically come back to an annual cycle, but to come back on a regular basis," Guillemot said, via GamesIndustry.biz. "We can't say every year."

Meanwhile, Guillemot reportedly said that the publisher intends to move away from the "fire and forget" approach to releasing titles, opting instead for ongoing, game-as-service titles like Rainbow Six: Siege and The Division. It's worth reading the full report if you're interested in the nitty-gritty, but online, multiplayer focused games seems to be the target.

In the short term, Ubisoft has Far Cry: Primal releasing next week, followed by The Division in early March. Rainbow Six: Siege is also getting some solid ongoing support, following a rocky launch. 

Assassin's Creed: The Movie is coming out this year. It's just as well, as rumour has it there won't be another mainline Assassin's Creed game until 2017. That means, instead of spending roughly 50 hours being stealthy, stabbing people and collecting things, we'll spend around two hours passively watching someone else do it. Sounds like a good deal to me.

The film, which stars Michael Fassbender, started shooting back in September and follows Aguilar, a 15th-century Spanish Assassin. Judging by the new stills from the film (one above, and two below), there will also be segments set in the modern day. It's probably going to be just as ridiculous as the games, which is great. Ridiculous things can be great.