A screenshot from Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft
Ubisoft announced ahead of its upcoming investors call that it has delayed Assassin’s Creed Shadows to February 2025.
The company explained, “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. 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.”
Furthermore, the company revealed, “We are departing from the traditional Season Pass model. All players will be able to enjoy the game at the same time on February 14 and those who preorder the game will be granted the first expansion for free.”
The company concluded, “The game will mark the return of our new releases on Steam Day 1.”
In an official post to the company’s X account, Ubisoft’s Marc-Alexis Côté elaborated, “Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a dream project for us; finally bringing the series to Feudal Japan with many features developed with our community in mind, such as parkour or renewed stealth, brought by new technology, all set in a beautiful and immersive world. This is an ambitious addition to the franchise, a rich experience that can be lived through the eyes of two unique protagonists – but we realize we need more time to polish and refine the experience, pushing further some of our key features.”
“As such, we’ve made the decision to postpone the release date to February 14, 2025. The game will release on a broad range of platforms, including Steam at launch. Additionally, preorders will be refunded and all future preorders will be granted the first expansion for free,” he continued.
Côté added, “We understand this decision will coms as disappointing news, especially to those who’ve been waiting patiently for an Assassin’s Creed game inspired by Feudal Japan, but we sincerely believe this is in the best interest of the game, and ultimately your experience as a player.”
“Rest assured we are looking forward to the moment you will embark on a memorable adventure with Naoe and Yasuke. Until then, we thank you for your ongoing support,” he concluded.
This confirms speculation from Tom Henderson at Insider Gaming that Ubisoft was planning to delay the game after it pulled out of the Tokyo Game Show.
The official Ubisoft Japan account announced on X that it was pulling out of the Tokyo Game Show. A translation via X user Prairiefawkes states, “To our community members, Regarding our planned online participation in Tokyo Game Show 2024 scheduled for September 26th at 15:00, we regret to inform you that we had to cancel our exhibition due to various circumstances. We will continue to carry out the official streaming commemorative present campaign that is currently underway.”
The company added, “We apologize for this last-minute notice. To those who were looking forward to the stream, we express our heartfelt apologies.”
Following this announcement, Tom Henderson at Insider Gaming reported that “various sources” informed him that “the Assassin’s Creed Shadows press previews were scheduled to take place next week, and the embargo date for the previews would be announced then.”
Henderson then shared, “At the time of writing, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is still scheduled to release on November 12, 2024, however, the recent announcements may suggest that the game might be delayed.
What do you make of Ubisoft delaying Assassin’s Creed Shadows to February 2025? Do you think the delay will make a difference?