Ubisoft believes that the industry’s Q4 line-up could be its strongest ever – but has admitted that there will be less choice for consumers than there was in 2008.

The publisher releases the sequel to flagship release Assassin’s Creed on November 20th – currently fourth favourite for the Christmas No.1 spot at 12/1, according to Paddy Power.

Major titles such as Activision’s Blur, 2K’s Bioshock 2 and Ubisoft’s own Splinter Cell: Conviction were previously due to be released this Q4, but have now been moved back to Q1 2010.

“There are certainly fewer triple-A games than last year,” Ubisoft brand manager for core games James O’Reilly told MCV in an exclusive interview.

“The market won’t be as saturated this year, but the competition is still fierce and if anything the quality of the titles being released seems to be higher than ever.

“That said we are confident that our game and the level of marketing support will cut through.”

The original Assassin’s Creed, released in 2007, became the fastest selling new IP in video game history.

The Hut’s Sarah Jaspar told MCV that the online retail firm had seen “massive interest” in the game, and that it was only second in pre-orders this year to Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.