Ubisoft has decided to delay Assassin’s Creed Shadows to “polish” the game, but players believe it doesn’t deserve to hit the shelves.

With Assassin’s Creed Shadows doing exactly what gamers have been asking for decades and taking the franchise to Feudal Japan, you’d think that Ubisoft would push it to the extreme. However, that hasn’t been the case, as the French publisher has been quiet about the upcoming title.

The next Assassin’s Creed game is getting delayed. | Credit: Ubisoft

Ever since the game’s reveal at Gamescom, Assassin’s Creed Shadows has sunken into shadows, literally. On top of that, Ubisoft recently canceled press previews for the game. However, it’s now been confirmed that Shadows has been officially delayed, and gamers believe the project needs to be canned already.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Gets Delayed, Pre-Orders Refunded

Recently, Ubisoft decided to share a press release that gave an updated financial target for the next fiscal year. The major highlight of the release was that Assassins’ Creed Shadows is being pushed back from its planned release date of November 12 all the way until 14th February 2025.

Despite the game being complete, Ubisoft has decided to take learnings from the failure of Star Wars’ Outlaws and believes the game needs more time to be polished and refined.

‘ASSASSIN’S CREED: SHADOWS’ has been delayed to February 14, 2025. pic.twitter.com/lbKezLhAxI

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 25, 2024

Not only has the French publisher decided to delay the game, but it has also announced that pre-orders will now be refunded. This isn’t uncommon, though it’s quite rare for a company to outright refund pre-orders when delaying a title. Future pre-orders for Assassin’s Creed Shadows will be provided for the first expansion free of charge.

Ubisoft’s near-silence on the game over the last couple of months means that this doesn’t come as much of a surprise. However, gamers believe the game should be outright axed, as it simply can’t even compete against Ghost of Yotei.

Ubisoft might as well just cancel the game at this point because everyone will be playing Ghost of Yotei

— OB 🇵🇸 (@GhostRMCF) September 25, 2024

Ever since Shadows‘ first reveal, it’s been constantly labeled as a terrible game.

Its the WORST GAME EVER! Don’t release it!!

— Jade (@JPopCrave) September 25, 2024

Gamers believe Ubisoft developers should rethink their entire approach to the Assassin’s Creed franchise.

Good news is it has been delayed.
The bad news is it has been delayed.

— KazumiSW (@KazumiSW2) September 25, 2024

One of the biggest gripes has been Yasuke’s character in the game. Gamers who still have hopes for the title believe Ubisoft should replace him and bring what they’ve been requesting.

Imagine if they swap Yasuke

— Sarx88 (@Sarx88) September 25, 2024

It’s truly shocking how, instead of releasing a broken buggy mess, Ubisoft is taking its time to “polish” Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

I’m shocked Ubisoft is doing this instead of releasing an unfinished game lmao

— Blankzy (@Blankzy_) September 25, 2024

It will certainly be interesting to see how Assassin’s Creed Shadows ends up performing commercially now. Ubisoft publisher has had quite a bit of a rough year, and the decision to delay the game doesn’t help matters. On the bright side, 2025 should be a packed year for Assassin’s Creed fans.

Beyond Assassin’s Creed Shadows coming out in February 2025, the Assassin’s Creed Jade mobile game is also expected to be released at some point during the next year. Let’s hope that it isn’t delayed.

Why is Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Under Heavy Criticism?

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is plagued with issues. (Image via Ubisoft)

Ever since Assassin’s Creed Shadows‘ first reveal, it has been under fire for a variety of reasons. One of the major issues with the game is its historical accuracy. Fans have been raising their voice about how the game misrepresents feudal Japan with Yasuke.

On top of that, what’s causing even more frustration is the fact that Ubisoft hasn’t bothered evolving the Assassin’s Creed formula, and Shadows will likely be another unnecessary slop. From what we’ve seen with this year’s release by the studio, it clearly follows the same generic pattern it’s been following for years.

If the company doesn’t take note of players’ concerns and fixes these issues in Shadows, the future will not look too bright for Ubisoft. The company is already struggling to generate revenue, and the downward spiral of its biggest franchise could prove to be the final nail in the coffin.

Now that it has delayed Assassin’s Creed Shadows‘, let’s keep our fingers crossed, and hope that the game isn’t a bust until it eventually debuts next year.

With that said, do you think Assassin’s Creed Shadows should be canned? If yes, let us know in the comments below.