Ubisoft's AAA new IP is 'multiplayer-centric,' but also has single-player

The mysterious new AAA IP that Ubisoft announced during its earnings briefing this month will be "multiplayer-centric," though it will also have a single-player mode. Ubisoft chief financial officer Alain Martinez offered the tease as part of Ubisoft's Investor Day briefing.

The comment came after Ubisoft chief executive Yves Guillemot dodged a question about it -- "We prefer you to wait a little bit," he said. Martinez chimed in to offer some broad strokes about what form the game would take.

"It is multiplayer-centric, so clearly, it is following the path of For Honor, Ghost Recon, and Rainbow Six," he said. "So it is going to be strongly multiplayer-centric, with a strong solo side also."

His comments came in response to an analyst's question about which studio was working on the game, what genre it would be, and whether it would offer multiplayer. While Martinez answered the last portion of the question, the game's studio and genre remain to be seen.

Ubisoft has said it will discuss this game in greater detail during its next earnings briefing in May, if not earlier. That would presumably set it up to be showcased at E3 2016 the following month, though this has not been confirmed.

When Ubisoft announced the new IP, it described the game as "high-potential" and said it would have a "strong digital live service," which could mean a number of different things.

The game is slated to launch during Ubisoft's next fiscal year, which begins April 1, 2016 and ends March 31, 2017.

In addition to the new IP, Ubisoft is planning to release another new franchise, the swordfighting game For Honor, during the upcoming fiscal year. Other games coming out will include South Park: The Fractured But Whole, Ghost Recon Wildlands, and the recently confirmed Watch Dogs 2.

Also during Ubisoft's Investor Day meeting, the company explained that when the Assassin's Creed series returns, it may not do so on a yearly basis.