Assassin’s Creed Shadows Delayed to February 2025

Ubisoft has had some issues regarding their games for a while now. Their stock has been on a downswing and their recent titles have underperformed. With that in mind, Assassin’s Creed Shadows feels like a make-or-break moment for them.

A tweet was made on Wednesday, September 25, about the game’s status. Ubisoft said they’re delaying the game into February 2025. This comes as Ubisoft relays a stark change in its strategy across the entire company. 

Assassin’s Creed’s Delay

From the outside looking in the delay for Assassin’s Creed Shadows is standard for big releases. We’ve seen games get delayed time and time again. It’s always for the betterment of the game. From the announcement made on the game’s X account, it certainly seems that way.

Giving a reason for the game’s delay, series Executive Producer Marc-Alexis Côté wrote, “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.” 

He states, “As such, we’ve decided to postpone the release date to February 14, 2025.” 

Players who have pre-ordered the title do not need to worry, for all preorders plan on being refunded. It may also be worth pre-ordering again, however, Ubisoft is offering the first expansion for free when doing so. The game will be released on Steam at launch, which was previously not the case for Ubisoft titles, as they’ve released exclusively in their launcher. 

“We understand this decision will come 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.” Côté goes on to say. 

As previously reported here by our own Robert Kellett, Assassin’s Creed Shadows has some major distinct features that likely need polishing. It’s the first Assassin’s Creed title to feature swapping between two protagonists – Yasuke and Naoe. Both protagonists play differently from one another, with Naoe using the classic stealth the series is known for, while Yasuke is more about brute force.

On the surface, it does indeed seem to be a standard delay. More time is needed to polish the game. However, a financial report from Ubisoft speaks to different circumstances. Circumstances that speak to Ubisoft as a whole.

Ubisoft’s Shifting Direction

A financial update released by Ubisoft on the same day as the delay for Assassin’s Creed Shadows speaks further on Ubisoft’s decision-making here. The report states the following; “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”

Star Wars Outlaws, a game set in the blockbuster IP, was released on August 27, 2024, to “solid” ratings, according to Ubisoft, but ultimately underperformed. The game wasn’t polished at launch and now needs fixes to get it into the state it’s supposed to be in. Ubisoft writes, “In response to player feedback, Ubisoft’s development teams are currently fully mobilized to swiftly implement a series of updates to polish and improve the player experience in order to engage a large audience during the holiday season to position Star Wars Outlaws as a strong long-term performer.” 

With the desire to bring Star Wars Outlaws back up to the standard it should be, Ubisoft is also releasing the game on Steam on November 21. In fact, after Assassin’s Creed Shadows, all Ubisoft games will launch Day 1 on Steam moving forward. This is fantastic news for PC players who are likely frustrated with the amount of launchers needed to play games on their platform. 

Players will also be happy to know that Ubisoft is departing from their Season Pass model as well as early access via pre-ordering. “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”, Ubisoft writes. There’s no word yet on what that non-traditional model will look.

From what it sounds like, Ubisoft is afraid of Assassin’s Creed Shadows underperforming. The company, as a whole, is not in the best of states right now. With shares already going downhill, GamePressure reports that Ubisoft’s stocks dropped by 20% after this financial update on the French stock exchange. It’s very concerning for a company that needs a win right now.

Besides the underperformance of Star Wars Outlaws, Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones also underperformed greatly earlier this year. Reviews for the pirate-centric game landed Metacritic scores in the range of 58-63. This comes after Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot defended the multiplayer-centric title launching at $70. They even called it a “quadruple-A game.”

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown also suffered despite reviewing very well. The game sold only 300,000 copies around its launch according to Insider Gaming. This is despite the game launching at a $50 price point.

Hearing about positive changes such as launching on Steam Day 1, or reworking Season Passes is very hopeful. However, if you were on board with Ubisoft waking up and smelling the roses, you may be disappointed to hear that they aren’t shying away from live-service titles despite everything. 

Ubisoft writes, “Although the tangible benefits of the Company’s transformation are taking longer than anticipated to materialize, we keep on our strategy, focusing on two key verticals – Open World Adventures and GaaS-native experiences – with the objective to drive growth, recurrence and robust free cash flow generation in our business.”

It’s worth noting that Ubisoft’s XDefiant, a Call of Duty competitor, has allegedly seen a steep decline since its launch in May 2024, as reported by Insider Gaming. It came at a time where opinions on Call of Duty are more on the negative side, and raked in 8 million players within its first week. The free-to-play live-service title has dropped off significantly and it’s struggling to break 20,000 players across its platforms. 

Towards the end of the financial report, Ubisoft insists they’ll need “greater efficiency while delighting players” and wishes to take a “player-centric approach” with these plans. I absolutely do not want to see Ubisoft fail, so I hope it works in the long run. We’ll hear more details about Ubisoft’s plans in their H1 results announcement on October 30, 2024.

So what do you think about the delay of Assassin’s Creed Shadows? Are you still looking forward to the game? What about Ubisoft? Are you worried about their future? Let us know in the comments below!