Highlights:
* Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ release date has been pushed to February 2025.
* Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws influenced the decision to postpone the Assassin’s Creed game.
Ubisoft recently announced the postponement of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the fourteenth installment in the popular open-world RPG franchise. The game was initially set to launch this November but it will instead be arriving next year. Shadows is still set to be the first entry in Animus Hub, a one-stop destination to the AC universe, whose release will coincide with the game. Ubisoft’s decision to delay the title is heavily influenced by the reception of its previous release Star Wars Outlaws.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Delayed For Next Year, Ubisoft Ditches Traditional Season Pass Model
Formerly slated for November 12, Assassin’s Creed Shadows will now be released on February 14, 2025. Marc-Alexis Côté, Vice President Executive Producer for Assassin’s Creed, mentioned in a notice on X that the team needs more time to polish the game and improve some of its features. Those players who pre-ordered Assassin’s Creed Shadows will be refunded.
Interestingly, Ubisoft has also eliminated their Season Pass for AC Shadows. The season pass was included in the Gold, Ultimate, and Collector Editions which promised both future DLC expansions alongside a bonus quest at launch. Moreover, pre-orderers of either game editions would have received a 3-day early access benefit.
Now, those who pre-order Assassin’s Creed Shadows will get the first DLC expansion for free. The second expansion is likely to be sold separately. News about the Assassin’s Creed Shadows delay can be found below:-
Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been enveloped in controversy since the game’s reveal trailer. The historical accuracy of Yasuke, one of the main characters, has led to much criticism online. After the Assassin’s Creed Shadows reveal trailer broke the series record for most dislikes, Ubisoft had to make multiple announcements on their social media platforms about the ongoing controversies.
How Star Wars Outlaws Affected Assassin’s Creed Shadows
During a conference call on September 25 and a subsequent press release, Ubisoft revealed that the “learnings from Star Wars Outlaws” prompted them to dedicate more time to Assassin’s Creed Shadows. “This will enable the biggest entry in the franchise to fully deliver on its ambition.”
Ubisoft also revealed that the Star Wars Outlaws sales “proved softer than expected” despite gaining decent ratings and responses. The underwhelming performance of the sci-fi open-world title combined with the current controversies has undoubtedly made the studio more cautious about the market performance of Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
The revelation about the Assassin’s Creed Shadows delay arrived alongside the information about Ubisoft’s financial targets for FY2024-25. Yves Guillemot, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, disclosed that the company fell short of its second-quarter goals.
“Our second quarter performance fell short of our expectations, prompting us to address this swiftly and firmly, with an even greater focus on a player-centric, gameplay-first approach and an unwavering commitment to the long-term value of our brands.”
The Assassin’s Creed Shadows delay will give more time for Ubisoft to ponder about potential appealing changes to the title. Particularly, they would be aiming to enhance the varied playstyles brought by the protagonists, Yasuke and Naoe.
