Ubisoft’s ‘Assassin’s Creed Syndicate’ Disappoints, ‘Watch Dogs 2,’ New Property Announced

French game developer Ubisoft Entertainment is hitting the pause button on one of its most successful titles, “Assassin’s Creed,” after two disappointing entries into the long-running franchise.

Poor performance of “Assassin’s Creed Syndicate,” the latest installment, as well as “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege” hurt sales over the holiday quarter of 2015; sales were down 44 percent to 561.8 million euros ($636.7 million) from 809.7 million euros ($917.3 million) in the same period last year. The sales missed Ubisoft’s own estimate of 600 million euros ($679 million) for the quarter and lowered expectations for the coming year to 1.36 billion euros ($1.54 billion) from 1.46 billion euros ($1.65 billion) that the company predicted last fall.

CEO Yves Guillemot attributed the slow launch of “Assassin’s Creed” to “an exceptionally competitive environment.” The company will now take a year off from the game to reinvent it. “We are now in a position to take the decision not to release a new ‘Assassin’s Creed’ game in 2016-17, in order to give the brand a new dimension,” he said.

During the earnings call, Ubisoft announced “Watch Dogs 2” and a new property that will be released in April. The company is betting 2016 on two new franchise installments coming out February and March: “Far Cry Primal” and “Tom Clancy’s The Division.”

The slow launch of “Assassin’s Creed Syndicate” could be attributed to the bug-filled launch of “Assassin’s Creed Unity.” Released in 2014, the game experienced performance issues that led to the company releasing a public apology and an offer for a free game. Ubisoft revealed the “Assassin’s Creed” franchise has sold 10 million titles in the quarter.

Ubisoft did not release a major game last summer, and with another disappointing quarter behind them, the company is looking for strong performances from “The Division” and “Far Cry Primal” to pull themselves out of a slump. Ubisoft targeted 591 million euros ($669 million) in sales for the coming quarter.

Looking ahead to its upcoming year, the company announced a slate of five games. “For Honor,” “South Park: The Fractured But Whole,” “Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon WildLands” and a “Watch Dogs” sequel.