If there's any publisher out there right now that comes to mind with the word, "Assassin," it's Ubisoft, referring of course to its Assassin's Creed franchise. Interestingly enough, the publisher was spotted filing for a trademark for the word, and seeing as they already have ones for Assassin's Creed, it's time for another guessing game as to what this one is for.

Ubisoft is hell-bent on putting its foot down against piracy as they are targeting this year to come out with a piracy solution for their games on the various platforms. The publisher has admitted that their products have been dealt a heavy blow because of the piracy, and they are now working on a tool that should cushion the impact of the said problem.

Ubisoft has announced that they have plans to open a studio in Toronto, Ontario to expand operations and make use of creative talent in the region. Another great thing about this new studio is that it'll create 800 new jobs in the next decade. Win-win situation right there.

We've had some heavy-hitting gaming news this past week, say for example Ghostbusters: The Video Game's very apparent graphics discrepancy on competing consoles Xbox 360 and PS3. But I'd have to say that the Industry News section of our QuickPeek is clearly the winner of the highlights award for our 77th issue. From ratings boards to company love-teams, to digital distribution vs retailers, Obama's take on indoor (video)gaming versus outdoor frolicking, CEO slip-ups, cover-ups, retractions and apologies, threats to drop support for a console (as in, it's friendship over for Sony, Activision), we've got all the drama -- and more -- right here. You know what to do.

It's always been plagued by late game releases, but it looks like Europe may be getting a leg up when it comes to Ubisoft titles in the near future. According to Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, Europe is now the company's biggest market. Will this new-found importance finally give European gamers the attention they've asked for all these years? We hope so. More in the full article.

Ubisoft's on a definite roll this time around, with the company enjoying good sales numbers in the first quarter thanks to a boost afforded by the release of games such as Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360, PS3, PC), Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC), and others. There's just one little snag, however, with the confirmation of Splinter Cell: Conviction's delay. More details in the full article.

It was a lucrative year for French video game publisher and developer Ubisoft. The company saw a profitable sales growth of 36 percent, amounting to around €928 million (US$ 1.46 billion). It owed its success to the successful releases during the previous year coming from established franchises, original IP releases, and even its casual line of games. For more details, check out our full article.

Ubisoft struck gold with their acquisition of the Tom Clancy name for life. How much did it cost them, and how big a gold mine will it bring them? Talks are also in the air about their venture into the world of MMOs with the said name. To find out more, read up over at the full article.

Ubisoft has just completed tallying the results of their holiday quarter performance and the results have been no less than fantastic. Most of their franchises have proven to be hits, including next-gen newcomer Assassin's Creed (PC, PS3, Xbox 360). The French-based company now says they've moved up as the third-leading independent publishers in the business. Details in the full article.

Ubisoft president Yves Guillemot praises Nintendo for helping Ubisoft expand its business, and states that they will have more Nintendo-quality games for the Wii. That's going to be something worth waiting for, especially if that translates to having the rumored Assassin's Creed Wii title.

More details in the full article!