Skip To...
It’s not often that a game becomes too controversial long before its release date, and Assassin’s Creed: Shadows is almost synonymous with controversy. Assassin’s Creed: Shadows is so mired in its own pre-release problems, its actual release is also starting to look grim for publisher and developer Ubisoft. Now, the game has been delayed again for three weeks, but what further worries the community is how the delay is so close to the release date.
Of course, the usual reason Ubisoft gave for the second delay was to incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months. Some of the more skeptical minds, however, will likely notice that the previous release date of February 14, 2025, puts the game too close to other February 2025 heavyweights such as Kingdom Come Deliverance, Civilization 7, Avowed, and Monster Hunter Wilds.
It’s easy to assume that Ubisoft is avoiding competition for Assassin’s Creed: Shadows by pushing it to March 2025. Still, even before the two delays and the controversy surrounding the game, Ubisoft might have already shot itself in the foot with Assassin’s Creed: Shadows.
What Does it Have Over Ghost of Tsushima?
Ever since Altair started jumping on the rooftops of Jerusalem, diving knife-first into Templars from the shadows, we’ve all been sold on the idea of a ninja-themed Assassin’s Creed set in Japan. It wasn’t too outlandish a concept for Ubisoft since the premise of the Animus allowed for a fictionalization of any historical playground; Japan was surely not off limits.
And yet, more than a decade later, Ubisoft kept toying around with Assassin’s Creed premises that were less than ideal for cloaked assassins, some of which didn’t even have stellar results. Settings like London, Paris, the Greek Isles, and even Egypt practically turned the game into an unrecognizable amalgam of trends.
While you could argue that Ubisoft could’ve bided its time and waited for tech that allowed a fully realized ninja Assassin’s Creed game, Ghost of Tsushima already realized it back in 2020. The feature that Assassin’s Creed: Shadows touts so proudly where you can switch between two characters and thus, two playstyles isn’t exactly game-changing and not much different compared to what Ghost of Tsushima did.
Ghost of Tsushima notably allowed players to pursue the honorable samurai path or the renegade ninja assassin route– complete with parkour and of course, the Japanese flavor.
RPG dialog choices set Assassin’s Creed: Shadows apart, but that’s hardly a crowning feature for anyone who wants to be a samurai or a ninja. And it’s not like Ubisoft is a trendsetter when it comes to RPG storytelling, considering it only copied The Witcher 3‘s success.
Another Skull & Bones in the Making?
If anything, the whole delay and late entry of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows in the market reminded me of one of Ubisoft’s biggest blunders in 2024. Skull & Bones allegedly cost anywhere from $650 million to $850 million to make, only to be a disappointing mess in which almost no one was interested.
Ubisoft had hit the right pirate game formula back in 2013 with Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag. Since then, everyone wanted a full-fledged pirate game from Ubisoft. But again, Ubisoft only released Skull & Bones 10 years later when other pirate-themed games like Sea of Thieves have already raked in the pirate game fans.
Assassin’s Creed: Shadows looks to be under a worryingly similar situation. Ubisoft overestimated its hype and ignored the whims of its fans, only to cave one generation later, once its loyal fans had moved on and lost interest.
Sadly, it appears Ubisoft does not have many chances left. Star Wars Outlaws wasn’t as big as they thought, Prince of Persia failed due to their rigid distribution, XDefiant‘s closure, Skull & Bones, and the layoffs. Now that the company’s fate somewhat hinges on Assassin’s Creed: Shadows‘ hypothetical success, Ubisoft only decided to start listening to its players. It might have been too late at that point already.
The 3-week Delay Looks Rather Familiar
Those who recall the disastrous launch of Cyberpunk 2077 will likely draw parallels to what’s happening to Assassin’s Creed: Shadows now. Cyberpunk 2077 was supposed to be released back in November 2020 but the devs pushed it to December 2020 so close to its previous release date. It was a 3-week delay, just like what Ubisoft announced for Assassin’s Creed: Shadows recently.
An AAA game getting delayed like that has never been a good sign, and three weeks doesn’t seem like enough time to incorporate feedback and implement big, game-changing improvements. But the silver lining is that Cyberpunk 2077 managed to regain player trust again after a stretch of apologetic hard work and continued support to fix a broken and once underwhelming game.
It’s not exactly a good way to treat your players and customers, and the big difference is that Cyberpunk 2077 was CD Projekt RED’s first big mistake. Hence, gamers might not be as forgiving with Ubisoft, though it’s still possible to pull off a No Man’s Sky or Cyberpunk 2077-style redemption as long as they keep being transparent and listening to their players. Therein lies the challenge.
The “Other Hope” for Ubisoft
With that said, Ubisoft isn’t exactly out of prospects for a financial comeback. One of the biggest speculations for the publisher and developer studio at the moment is the looming Tencent buyout. Ubisoft’s CEO and owner circle, the Guillemot Family, is even considering the Tencent buyout back in October 2024 when the Assassin’s Creed: Shadows controversy coincided with Ubisoft’s stock plunge.
Since Bloomberg’s report on the buyout back in October, there has been no clear follow-up discussion or comment from either Tencent or Ubisoft. The deal is hanging in the balance, with the tipping point being Assassin’s Creed: Shadows‘ performance. So once again, Ubisoft will have to rely on its most controversial game thus far, in order to save itself.
