Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag in the works at eight studios

Ubisoft has diverted resources from eight separate development teams to Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag.

In an Ubisoft-produced interview with creative director Jean Guesdon, the publisher revealed that Ubisoft Montreal is leading development with assistance from Ubisoft Singapore, Ubisoft Sofia and Ubisoft Québec on the single-player side, with Ubisoft Annecy and Ubisoft Bucharest working on multiplayer.

In later reports from the preview event in London last week, it was revealed that Ubisoft Kiev and Ubisoft Montpelier are also onboard, although their roles were not detailed.

As you may recall, this multi-studio process is Ubisoft's regular habit; along with other titles like Splinter Cell and Far Cry, past Assassin's Creed games have sported multiplayer modes built by teams outside Montreal, with major contributions from other teams - but eight is still pretty impressive.

The interview also gave further background on Black Flag's historical setting, the Golden Age of Piracy, and on Edward's character, as well as many other snippets, It has been reproduced in full on AllGamesBeta.

Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag is headed to PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U and Xbox 360, and is also expected on Microsoft's new console should it ever be revealed.