Ubisoft reveals Christmas retail assault plans

Publisher Ubisoft has announced its release schedule for the rest of the year, revealing an impressive line-up of major titles which are planned for the third quarter of the year - with October and November set to see the launch of a host of AAA titles from the firm.

The move comes despite somewhat disappointing commercial performance from Ubisoft's titles last Christmas, with Beyond Good and Evil and Prince of Persia both being critically acclaimed but failing to chart strongly during the holiday season.

This year's assault on the charts, however, is even more aggressive - with franchises including Prince of Persia, Brothers in Arms, Splinter Cell, Myst and Star Ocean all due to launch over a two month period.

The fourth quarter kicks off for Ubisoft with the launch of Myst 4 - Revelation (PC) and Star Ocean: Till The End of Time (PS2, co-publishing with Square Enix) on October 1st, followed by WW2 shooter Brothers in Arms (PC, Xbox) in mid to late October.

November will then see the launch of Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (PC, Xbox), Prince of Persia 2 (PS2, Xbox, Cube, PC) and Playboy: The Mansion (PS2, Xbox, PC - November 5th), while the dark horse in all this is EverQuest 2, which is still pencilled in for September but seems likely to slip.

It's certainly an impressive line-up of software, and it's no stretch to say that while Take Two may well have the biggest title of the quarter in GTA San Andreas, Ubisoft is the publisher closest to having a range that will challenge EA's (sports titles aside). Assuming its titles meet their release dates, the French company certainly seems set for a merry Christmas.