Assassin's Creed III confirmed for Wii U

Assassin's Creed III will mark the series debut on a Nintendo home system. Ubisoft today confirmed the next installment in its stealth action series is in development for the Wii U, in addition to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. The game is due for release October 30.

Set during the American Revolution, Assassin's Creed III features a new protagonist with a mixed Native America-English heritage. Named Ratohnhake:ton but going by Connor, the hero of Assassin's Creed III will inject himself into the ongoing struggle between the Templars and the Assassins. The game is being built by Ubisoft Montreal and six collaborating studios on a new engine called Ubisoft-AnvilNext. The publisher is promising "breakthroughs in visual quality, character models, and artificial intelligence" thanks to AnvilNext.

Ubisoft also announced its first preorder incentive for Assassin's Creed III. Those who commit to a purchase ahead of time will get the game in steelbook packaging featuring art by comic book painter Alex Ross (Kingdom Come, Marvels).

"For me, it's interesting to work on something with the level of detail that's put into a video game character. It's expanded that much greater than what I'd normally illustrate in a comic," Ross told GameSpot. "I'm known for comic images that try to get more realistic in their approximation of clothing and physical detail. But when I'm working with something that's already like that but takes it a step further--where there's so much there I have to render for the clothing and the weapons--it's a real challenge to put that time in."