It’s now official: the next Japan-set action-adventure title from Ubisoft, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, won’t hit PC, PS5, or Xbox Series S/X on 11/15 as was initially penciled in. Instead, it’s now slated to launch on February 14, 2025-on those three platforms, anyway. Ubisoft also mentioned the game is “feature complete.” The additional time will apparently be used for further polishing of its next Assassin’s Creed title, “following another poor Star Wars Outlaws” first impression.
The company updated its fiscal year 2024-25 financial outlook based on the decision to delay Assassin’s Creed Shadows and a “softer than expected” launch of Star Wars Outlaws.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Delayed
Accordingly, Ubisoft said it is taking feedbacks from the players and reschedules the game till 2024. “Although the game is already feature complete, learnings from the Star Wars Outlaws’ release led us to provide additional time to further polish the title,” the company said in a press release on Wednesday. And this would enable the largest entry in the franchise to fully deliver on its ambition, especially when it comes to fulfilling the promise of our dual protagonist adventure, with Naoe and Yasuke bringing two gameplay styles that are utterly disparate.
Ubisoft is also killing off the old Season Pass model for Assassin’s Creed Shadows. This is due to backlash from players, who had expressed outrage when Ubisoft announced the game would have a Season Pass-allowed bonus quest available at launch, as well as two expansions to release later.
We’re moving away from the Season Pass model,” Ubisoft said. “All players can enjoy the game at the same time on February 14, and preorderors will receive the first expansion for free.”
Last but not least, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is also now launching day one on Steam, besides being distributed on PC via Ubisoft Connect as well as via Epic Games Store.
The poor release and timing of Star Wars Outlaws have forced Ubisoft to revise its FY 2024-25 financial targets. The French company now expects net bookings to be around €1.95 billion or approximately Rs. 18,194 crore. Net bookings of the second quarter of FY 2024-25 are now expected at around €350-370 million or approximately Rs. 3,266 crore-Rs. 3,452 crore.
Star Wars Outlaws Sales Disappoint
But Ubisoft is also currently working on a series of updates to further polish the game and enhance the player experience. The company stated that its development teams are fully mobilized to come up with updates that will help garner more players during the holiday season following the disappointing sales of Star Wars Outlaws, which hasn’t specified units sold. In addition, Ubisoft had confirmed that Star Wars Outlaws was going to appear on Steam on 21 November.
We will continue to invest in open world and live service games,” said Yves Guillemot, co-founder and chief executive officer of Ubisoft. “The mediocre openings of both open-world and live service games in 2024 will not affect the company’s strategy in the short term.” During the year it unveiled Skull and Bones and XDefiant, live service titles that disappointed most of its audience.
The transformation of the company in reality takes longer than anticipated to reflect in tangible benefits. So, we continue our strategy in the frameworks of two targeted verticals: Open World Adventures and GaaS-native experiences that are supposed to pull growth, recurrence, and a strong free cash flow creation in our business.
The problem about Assassin’s Creed Shadows
The chief executive also appears to have addressed the controversy surrounding Assassin’s Creed Shadows, going as far as not directly mentioning the game while doing so. From the time it was confirmed by the company that Assassin’s Creed Shadows will indeed include the real-life historical figure Yasuke, an African origin samurai as one of the two protagonists, the game has been attracting racist backlash online.
Valid criticism has certainly been present leading up to the launch on such aspects as price and season pass strategy, but many of the same voices have taken heat from critics and YouTubers alike for spewing hateful rhetoric about the game reportedly forcing a certain progressive “agenda” on them as it stars a Black protagonist. Guillemot didn’t take up that task; rather, she seemed to placate gamers.
I just want to reiterate that we’re still an entertainment-first company, and making these games for the broadest possible audience means that our goal is not in advancing any agenda,” he said. “We are committed to making games for fans and players that everybody can enjoy.”
Bhupendra Singh Chundawat is a seasoned technology journalist with over 22 years of experience in the media industry. He specializes in covering the global technology landscape, with a deep focus on manufacturing trends and the geopolitical impact on tech companies. Currently serving as the Editor at Udaipur Kiran, his insights are shaped by decades of hands-on reporting and editorial leadership in the fast-evolving world of technology.