Assassin’s Creed Shadows was supposed to be one of the biggest games of the fall. Instead it will now come out on February 14, 2025 instead. Publisher Ubisoft blamed the delay on “soft” sales from Star Wars Outlaws, and said it would be using “learnings” from that game in order to improve the latest Assassin’s Creed game ahead of its new release date.
“We realize we need more time to polish and refine the experience, pushing further some of our key features,” Ubisoft announced through its Assassin’s Creed social media account on Wednesday. The company elaborated more in a press release aimed at investors that cited “soft” sales from Star Wars Outlaws as part of the reason for pushing the game back from its original November 11 launch.
“While the game is feature complete, the learnings from the Star Wars Outlaws release led us to provide additional time to further polish the title,” it read. “This will enable the biggest entry in the franchise to fully deliver on its ambition, notably by fulfilling the promise of our dual protagonist adventure, with Naoe and Yasuke bringing two very different gameplay styles.”
In addition, Ubisoft is revising Assassin’s Creed Shadow’s seasonal content plans. Instead of granting early access to players who purchase the more expensive Deluxe edition, all owners of the game will be able to play at the same time starting on February 14. In addition, anyone who pre-orders the game will get the first seasonal expansion for free rather than needing to purchase a separate upgrade to access it.
Rumblings of a potential delay began earlier this week when Ubisoft suddenly and unexpectedly pulled out of its planned Tokyo Game Show livestream. Then Insider Gaming reported that hands-on previews for the game had also been cancelled. Ubisoft’s stock hit a 10-year low this month as it searches for its next hit blockbuster. It seemed like Star Wars Outlaws would be that, but mixed reviews at launch and weak initial sales data pointed to an uphill struggle for the stealth-based open world game.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows has also faced its own manufactured controversy among certain corners of the internet over the fact that its male protagonist is a Black samurai. While Yasuke is a historical figure, and Assassins’ Creed is a fictional series that includes things like aliens, Shadows has nevertheless landed in the crosshairs of a cottage industry of gamer outrage targeting what it unsubstantiated claims of “forced” diversity in games.
While Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has previously denounced “hateful acts” targeting Assassin’s Creed Shadows and its development team, today he seemed to try to placate the game’s most bad-faith detractors. “I want to reaffirm that we are an entertainment-first company, creating games for the broadest possible audience, and our goal is not to push any specific agenda,” he said in a press release. “We remain committed to creating games for fans and players that everyone can enjoy.”