News: I think it's all but official now.
Kotaku has gotten their hands on a GameStop pre-order box for Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. What's Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood you ask? Well, it's more than likely the multiplayer-based Assassin's Creed game Ubisoft previously announced for this Fall.
Want more proof? The back of the box includes many of the same claims Ubisoft has already made about the Assassin's Creed II follow-up:
"Live and breathe as Ezio, now a legendary master assassin, in his struggle against the Templar order. Lead your own brotherhood of Assassins and strike at the heart of the enemy. Rome.
"And for the first time, take part in an innovative multiplayer layer allowing you to embody an assassin of your choosing and define their killing style.
"A never-before-seen online multiplayer experience.
"Lead your own brotherhood of assassins, as Ezio, and conquer Rome."
It's either real or an expertly made forgery. The pre-order box also shows Brotherhood in development for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, but that was to be expected.
This all dovetails nicely with the recent announcement that Ubisoft had purchased AssassinsCreedBrotherhood.com.
So I'd say that while Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood hasn't been officially announced yet, it's as good as confirmed.
We'll have more soon.
UPDATE: Ubisoft has contacted Kotaku and confirmed that the pre-order box is real and that an official announcement for Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood will be made next week.