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Ubisoft has big, big plans for Assassin's Creed, according to marketing director Murray Pannell. Talking to Eurogamer, Pannell says he doesn't "see any reason why we shouldn't get there at some point in the not-too-distant future" when asked if the franchise going to be as big as industry kingpin Grand Theft Auto.

"I believe with the success of Assassin's 2 we have now got an opportunity to position ourselves as one of the true triple-A blockbusters," added Pannell. "Are we as big as things like GTA and Halo and things of that nature? Possibly not at this point. But I think we are uniquely poised now as a property, as a franchise, to certainly consider ourselves one of the must-have games whenever a game launches on Assassin's Creed in the franchise."

Assassin's Creed II sold 9 million units during the publisher's last financial year, while GTA sold 15 million since launch. Not too shabby (stabby) for Ezio and company at all.

And Pannell is also expecting the next title in the franchise, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, to do even better.

"In terms of expectations, people should certainly see this as a full price product with as much depth of gameplay if not more than the version we brought out a year ago. We're certainly positioning it that way. We're investing in the product in that way. And in terms of our expectations from a sales point of view, we'd see it doing at least as well as Assassin's 2, if not, ideally, better."

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is set to hit retail stores on 19 November 2010.