Ubisoft reveals all on Assassin's Creed Utopia: a freemium city-building game for iOS and Android

Ubisoft has revealed the first details of Assassin's Creed spin-off Utopia. It's a freemium strategy game for iOS and Android, and it will involve battles against rival colonies and some city building.

The game kicks off in 1586, where you get to build your own colony for your New World settlers. Then, over the next 150 years, you'll improve your village and develop the guild of assassins that keep guard over it.

That cheeky band of killers will go out and fight other clans in 3D battles. You could fight against your pals in asynchronous tussles, or you could team up with your friends to take on huge armies and epic foes.

In the battles, there's an 'auto' button available for when you can't be arsed to mess about with the combat system. It's a cross-platform title, too, so you can beat up your Android-owning mate if you fancy.

The game will be free, but there's no energy system or cooldown timers. Instead, you can speed up building times via real-world cash. You can also buy extra characters and items. There will be over 100 different characters in the game.

When we first heard about this GREE and Ubisoft collaboration at E3 2012, Assassin's Creed producer Andreane Meunier told Pocket Gamer that the game's plot won't have any direct links to upcoming console title Assassin's Creed III.

Utopia is currently scheduled for a late 2012 debut. Assassin's Creed III is out on October 31st - which might give you an idea of when the mobile spin-off will come out.