Apart from PC delays, Assassin’s Creed has released each fall like clockwork since 2009, but Ubisoft tells IGN it would delay the release of a game in the series if the quality of the installment was in question.

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Speaking to IGN in a conversation about delays , Ubisoft North American president Laurent Detoc said that Ubisoft would break Assassin’s Creed's annualized schedule by delaying a game "if it's not good enough."“If we think we’ve ended up with a 70 percent Assassin’s Creed game, we’re not going to ship it,” Detoc told IGN. “That damages the brand. I’m not going to give you the names of products, because you know them as well as I do, but if you start to make games at 70 percent, even with a big brand, eventually people are going to change their mind about that brand. They won’t want it anymore. That’s what saves the recurrence. There are 30 million people or so who have been playing Grand Theft Auto. Last year, to pick a round number, we had about 10 million people playing Assassin’s Creed. When we come up with an Assassin’s Creed the next year, there’s another 10 million brand new people who might be interested in the new setting, because of the new history, or the new naval battles and the pirates. It’s a variation on gameplay from even last year.”“You bring something fresh, but you have to bring quality too,” he continued. “There’s a lot of people who can play your game. We have fans who come back to the franchise and we’re very thankful for them, because we think we’re giving them a good game to play, and they give back to us when they buy it. But there’s a lot more people out there who we can sell games to.”In the past two years alone, Ubisoft has delayed Far Cry 3, Rayman Legends, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Watch Dogs, South Park, The Crew, and more. Still, Detoc points out that Rocksmith, Assassin’s Creed and Just Dance have been able to release without interruption.“I like to think that we don’t delay everything,” Detoc said. “It’s the reason for the delay that really matters. It’s a lot easier to predict the release of an Assassin’s Creed, because we understand what it takes. It’s a lot easier to predict a franchise that has more recurrence, for sure, than a new IP.” released this week . For much more from Detoc on Ubisoft’s philosophy regarding delays, plus what’s going on with Rainbow 6: Patriots , be sure to read our full interview

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following @garfep on Twitter or garfep on IGN.