Ubisoft and Scholastic Team for Assassin's Creed YA Novels

A new series of young adult novels set in the Assassin's Creed universe was announced Thursday. The novels will be under the title of "Last Descendants: An Assassin's Creed Series," and are being published by Scholastic in conjunction with Ubisoft.

The first of the books will be released September 2016, written by Matthew J. Kirby. It helps fill the void left by the announcement that there will be no new full console release of a new Assassin's Creed game this year. The story will feature new characters and an original story arc, following the similar expansion of the line in comic books and the upcoming film release, none of which have adapted characters or stories from the games.

The first book will jump through multiple timelines, including 1863 New York's draft riots and the Aztec Empire being conquered by Spain, Publisher's Weekly revealed in the announcement. As usual, that means there will be actual historical figures along for the ride, including Boss Tweed and Hernan Cortes, respectively.

The story will focus on teenage characters, more assassins-in-training that full-fledged ones like in the games, to help draw in the teen readership. Debra Dorfman, Scholastic VP and Publisher, Global Licensing and Media Consumer Products, recognized a need for new historical fiction and fantasy for teen readers, especially female ones.

"We think because it's a standalone story, we'll reach new fans who don't know the game. There are strong female teen characters that have a leading role, and I really think we'll reach a teen girl audience. They like sci-fi, fantasy, and historical fiction," she told PW. "We thought historical fiction/sci-fi/fantasy was perfect for the YA audience, and we admired Assassin's Creed because of its rich historical fiction."

She likens "Last Descendants" to previous successes like "Jedi Academy" and "DC Secret Hero Society."

The second "Last Descendants" novel will be released in 2017.