Assassin's Creed Shadows delayed to 2025 following "learnings from Star Wars Outlaws"
Launches on Steam day one, first expansion free if you pre-order.
Ubisoft has announced a dramatic delay to Assassin's Creed Shadows, which will now launch on 14th February 2025 instead of its previously planned arrival this November. Existing pre-orders will be refunded.
The publisher has always targeted the year's key holiday sales period for its Assassin's Creed blockbusters, making this move highly unusual. In a statement, Ubisoft said the game's content was complete - as you'd hope, seven weeks ahead of its intended launch date - but would now receive further polish.
Crucially, Ubisoft said the delay could be blamed on "softer than expected launch for Star Wars Outlaws", its previous big budget blockbuster for which it had high hopes, but then launched in August to lukewarm sales. The publisher was acting now, it said, based on "learnings" from that game.
Assassin's Creed Shadows will now launch on Steam on day one - a move the publisher has indicated will continue with other releases going forward.
In another change, Shadows will now ditch the franchise's established season pass model. The game's first expansion will be granted free to anyone who pre-orders the game now, however.
"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," Ubisoft said in a statement today. "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."
Today's delay also marked Ubisoft's first comments on the performance of Star Wars Outlaws. The game received a "solid" critical response, it says, but this had not translated into sales.
"In response to player feedback, Ubisoft's development teams are currently fully mobilised 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," the statement continued. "The game will be available on Steam on 21st November."
Eurogamer's Chris Tapsell wrote that the game's "stripped-back Ubisoft formula is admirable yet doomed" in our Star Wars Outlaws review last month.
Rounding off today's news from Ubisoft was a statement from company boss Yves Guillemot, who admitted the firm's financial performance over the past quarter had been lower than expected, and announced a wider review of how future projects were executed.
"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," Guillemot said.
Without any further explanation, Guillemot concluded his comment by weighing in on what he called "polarised comments" about the company, which he said was "not to push any specific agenda". Here's the quote in full:
"Finally, let me address some of the polarised comments around Ubisoft lately. 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. We remain committed to creating games for fans and players that everyone can enjoy."
It's hard not to read this as another comment on the recent controversy whipped up online around Assassin's Creed Shadows which has largely focused on the inclusion of African historical figure Yasuke and his portrayal as a samurai. Eurogamer has asked Ubisoft for more clarity on Guillemot's comment here. [UPDATE: "To clarify, our goal is to be known for creating great games and experiences," a Ubisoft spokesperson said in response. "This is what drives our teams, giving them the freedom to be creative while staying focused on delivering the best experience for our players."]
"Of course we're making creative choices, it's a video game," Assassin's Creed Shadows art director and franchise veteran Thierry Dansereau told me last month, adding that he was confident with how the game would ultimately be received.