Assassin’s Creed Shadows Faces Yet Another Delay
Things continue to deteriorate for Ubisoft.
In a rather unsurprising turn of events, Ubisoft has delayed Assassin’s Creed: Shadows by a month, pushing it to March of this year. While it remains to be seen if this is a good move or not, it comes at a time when Ubisoft really needs a win.
After just about breaking even in 2024, things have been looking pretty bleak for Ubisoft with many fans wondering if this might be the end for the beleaguered publisher. Their 2024 lineup of games (such as Star Wars: Outlaws) failed to meet their expectations. Having such a coveted IP like Star Wars sounds like a surefire way to print money, even when its fanbase is so divided. However, interest in Star Wars has been waning in recent years, though this is only one of the reasons Outlaws underperformed. Overall, it’s just not a very enjoyable game.
Ubisoft is no stranger to having a series that prints money as the Assassin’s Creed franchise has been a juggernaut in the games industry since the original launch in 2007. While players - and the games’ quality - suffered from the yearly releases and franchise fatigue, Assassin’s Creed was revitalized with the 2017 launch of Assassin’s Creed: Origins which took the series in a new gameplay direction. Many fans praised the new design choices but lamented the minimized stealth options, a core feature of, you know, being an assassin.
Though we have the new release date of March 20th, 2025 for Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, that doesn’t rule out the possibility of there being more delays closer to the release date. Ubisoft shared a post over on X to announce the delay while expressing their gratitude for players’ patience, citing the need for a few more weeks to implement fan feedback.
Take Your Time, Hurry Up. Choice Is Yours, Don’t Be Late
Hot on the heels of this announcement, fans were quick to make their feelings clear. Some players, like myself, are happy to wait for a game to be polished and hopefully ship with a minimal amount of bugs (but let’s be real here, the odds of that happening in the 2025 gaming industry is like catching lightning in a bottle). Other fans voiced their frustration as they are eager to dive into Ubisoft’s rendition of feudal Japan after clamoring for it for at least a decade.
I don’t envy any game developer in today’s day and age, as there will always be harsh critique of your choice to either release a game early and get bombarded with complaints of bugs and rushing a game out before it’s done, or get slandered for delaying a game multiple times with many vocal players advocating a game shouldn’t be announced so far in advance. But in the ever-growing industry, it is nigh impossible to please everyone as game development takes longer with each passing generation and developers are at risk of losing interest in a franchise if games aren’t released every few years or drawing the ire of gamers that want a new game now.
Patience is a virtue that is a tricky line to balance in the world of gaming, but not just for developers. Just don’t pull a Bethesda, and we’re golden! I’m still upset that not only is The Elder Scrolls VI still several years out, but Fallout 5 is a twinkle in Uncle Todd’s eye despite the critical acclaim of the Fallout TV show that aired only last year.
Despite all Ubisoft’s flaws, I am still hoping that they can launch a successful product this March. And I’m guessing their investors are hoping for the same after the underperforming titles of 2024, which included the aforementioned Star Wars: Outlaws, the sunken cost of Skull & Bones, and the short-lived “CoD-killer” XDefiant. Announcing an investigation of their development cycles and a desire to focus on a "player-centric approach", Ubisoft announced the first delay of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows to February 14th, 2025, before eventually delaying the game a second time. How do you feel about another delay? Let us know down in the comment section.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is now set to launch on March 20th, 2025 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series consoles and PC.
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