‘Assassin’s Creed 4′ to Feature Aveline as PS3/PS4-Exclusive Playable Character

Whether its Assassin’s Creed 3′s Benedict Arnold storyline (a PlayStation 3-exclusive), Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation‘s standalone presence on the Vita, or even their steadily-gaining-pace production of an Assassin’s Creed feature film, Ubisoft and Sony have developed a close working relationship within the Assassin’s Creed franchise in recent years.

E3 2013 united the two once again — this time confirming Aveline de Grandpré, the heroine protagonist of the aforementioned Liberation, as an exclusive playable character on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 editions of Asssassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag.

Joined by the announcement of four PS3/PS4-only missions for its highly anticipated IP Watch Dogs, Ubisoft revealed that the Aveline will inhabit a bonus contingent of campaign missions in Assasssin’s Creed 4. According to Joystiq, the missions begin from the conclusion of Aveline’s story in AC3 Liberations thanks — you guessed it — to an upgrade of the Animus. (Liberation last left us in 1777 — 52 years after the 1715-start of Black Flag. The same flexibility enabling Black Flag’s canonical-dive backward is, in unison, driving some part of it forward.)

Ubisoft wouldn’t speak on the the story details behind Aveline’s reemergence — whether it’s a direct epilogue of Liberation, a separate tangent, or a means of tying the female assassin to Black Flag — but a word of caution: It will be brief. An hour, in fact, according to Sony VP of Publisher and Developer Relations Adam Boyes, who was quoted in Sony’s official press release:

“Ubisoft is no stranger to pushing the boundaries of play, and that is why we are expanding our partnership with PlayStation to bring PlayStation fans one-of-a-kind content for two of the year’s most anticipated games, Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag and Watch Dogs. With an hour of exclusive gameplay for each title, yet again we are blazing new trails by providing more unique experiences that can only be found on PlayStation.”

We’ve spent a (proverbial) boatload of time previewing Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag at E3 this week, and it’s clear that with new mechanics, new open-world exploration and, perhaps most importantly, a new generation of hardware, Ubisoft intends to give gamers a taste of something different beyond setting and storyline with this year’s annual installment. For Liberation fans (those who own, or will own, a PS3 or 4, anyway) Aveline’s bonus chapter, if well-handled, could offer a rewardingly familiar slice franchise lore.