Assassin's Creed's Animus, the virtual reality machine that reads a subject's genetic memory and allows them to relive it as an ancestor, helped the phenomenally successful stab-em-up series to expand beyond the limits of the first game's setting.

That's according to Jade Raymond, the producer of the first Assassin's Creed and now managing director of Ubisoft Toronto, the developer currently making the next Splinter Cell.

"I think that whole layer in the present is really the hub for the franchise, and that's what allows us to continue to expand," she told Gamasutra.

"So that explains why we're in a different period, and it explains why some things aren't consistent, like why are they speaking American English... maybe gamers don't mind so much and they're used to those things, or when you die and you get to retry."

The Assassin's Creed series consists of six games set across various time periods, including the Third Crusade and Renaissance Italy, and stars different protagonists.

But underpinning them all is bartender Desmond Miles, who is captured by megacorporation Abstergo Industries and forced to use the Animus to relive his ancestors' memories.

For Raymond, the inclusion of the Animus played a key role in the success of the franchise.

"But I think the most important part of having the animus and the part in the present is really just because it gave that kind of breadth, and it expanded the universe of the franchise so that it wasn't just a franchise about the Third Crusade when we came out," she said. "You know, there was already the idea that it could expand from the Third Crusade to wherever the present is taking place."

The last Assassin's Creed game, Brotherhood, continued Ezio Auditore's story and returned to the Renaissance Italy setting seen in Assassin's Creed 2. Various time periods and locations are rumoured for the next Assassin's Creed game, including a modern day setting.

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Ubisoft has aired plans to release "another big Assassin's Creed game" in 2011.

Publisher boss Yves Guillemot said earlier this month there will be "something around Assassin's [next year]" and now chief European marketeer Geoffroy Sardin has gone one step further.

"Yes, Yves [Guillemot, Ubisoft CEO] mentioned it last week in our financials – and more details will be forthcoming. But what I can say is that next year we will have another big Assassin's Creed game," Sardin told MCV.

Having already spun the story of Assassin's Creed II into the acclaimed Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, we can only assume this "big" new game will be Assassin's Creed III.

News of yet another instalment comes after Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood sold more than 1 million copies in less than a week here in Europe. Brotherhood was denied a UK all-formats chart top spot on its first week of release by Call of Duty: Black Ops. US sales figures aren't known.

To date, the Assassin's Creed series has sold 20 million copies for Ubisoft - it's the publisher's biggest brand.

But we had heard in July that Ubisoft wouldn't "plough" the Assassin's Creed field every year. "Once every three years – or once every something – you have to let it breathe," Ubisoft Montreal's Jean-Francois Boivin told Eurogamer. "You have to let the minerals back in. I think it's the same thing with any license, really.

Video: The fantastic Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.

A surprising 60 per cent of people gave up on story-led action game Assassin's Creed II before the end.

Which means 40 per cent did finish the campaign - and Ubisoft's mission maker Gaelec Simard reckons that number is "huge".

"In the industry, the number of games that are finished is more like five to ten per cent," he told Joystiq.

"We all think people finish games, but when you start asking around, you'll find that a lot of people don't get to the end.

"We want the player to experience the whole package, so that's something we're trying to push."

Only 35 per cent stuck with Assassin's Creed 1 until the end, Simard revealed.

But those AC1 statistics were based solely on Xbox 360 Achievements, whereas the more accurate AC2 figure was compiled from built-in stat-tracking service Uplay.

Simard's comments tally with those of Killzone 3 producer Steven Ter Heide, who told Eurogamer earlier this month that the "majority" of people didn't finish Killzone 2.

"Funnily enough, not a lot of people complete the game. That's something you see for a lot of games. We track a lot of that data," Ter Heide added.

Assassin's Creed 1 scored 7/10 on Eurogamer; Assassin's Creed II scored 9/10. The plot revolves around a man being transported back to the time of his genetic ancestors to uncover various secrets about Templars and shady organisations.

Video: Assassin's Creed II.

Ex-Assassin's Creed main man Patrice Désilets will join THQ in summer 2011 to form a new Montreal Studio focused on creating brand new games.

Désilets was the creative director on the hugely successful Assassin's Creed franchise before his surprise split from Ubisoft just before E3 2010 in June.

At the time Ubisoft said Désilets had "decided to take a creative break from the industry".

Désilets had been intimately involved with the Assassin's Creed franchise since its inception and was a pivotal figure in the second game's path to success in 2009.

He had been expected to promote Brotherhood, due out later this month, at the US trade show. "With his role on the project essentially done, Patrice Désilets has decided to take a creative break from the industry and is no longer working on Assassin's Creed Brotherhood," Ubisoft said.

Now, THQ has the exclusive option to have Désilets work from the new Montreal studio beginning summer 2011. When he joins the studio, Désilets will be charged with the hiring of a new team that will develop new intellectual properties for THQ.

"The best way we can deliver fresh, high-quality gaming experiences is by working with the best talent. THQ is delighted to have the opportunity to make a brilliant addition to our team next year with Patrice Désilets," said THQ core games boss Danny Bilson.

"We expect calendar 2011 to be a watershed year for THQ, and adding developers like Patrice helps ensure our focus on new IP and great games charted by leading industry artists."

Bilson added: "Simply put, we can't wait for Patrice to join THQ. Patrice brings a passion for games rich with action-packed sequences, gripping characters and cinematic flair, and we're all looking forward to having him and his newly formed team develop an all new franchise with us."

THQ Montreal will be formed of two separate development teams, one of which will be led by Désilets, who is heading up an original IP project.

The other team will be led by a US designer, and will either be a new title based on an existing THQ franchise, or new IP if that doesn't work out.