A heavy blow for all Assassin’s Creed fans: no, Shadows will not be released on time. Ubisoft has just announced a postponement of the game until next year, as part of a review of its financial targets.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Remains in the Shadows
Although Assassin’s Creed Mirage was released last year to satisfy the community, Ubisoft was preparing to return to the action-RPG formula with a gigantic open world with Assassin’s Creed Shadows, following in the footsteps of Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla. Set in feudal Japan, this extensive new episode was scheduled for release on November 12, 2024 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series: today, Ubisoft has announced the title’s postponement to February 14, 2024.
The reason? A revision of its financial targets for fiscal 2024-2025 following the “weaker-than-expected launch of Star Wars Outlaws”, and also the desire for new guidelines for Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
Changes for Assassin’s Creed Shadows Too
The weight on Assassin’s Creed Shadows is greater than ever. While Star Wars Outlaws, a massive game released at the end of August, was supposed to give Ubisoft some relief, its poor results have forced the company to reshuffle the deck following a meeting of its Executive Board. In addition to postponing AC Shadows by three months, some policy changes have been made.
The first is eliminating the traditional Season Pass model, which has been part of the game for a long time. Instead, Ubisoft has announced that it will be more generous with its players, offering the first expansion for free to anyone who pre-orders Shadows. Plus, all players will be able to play the game simultaneously on its launch day.
Moreover, the title will “mark the return of Ubisoft’s new releases on Steam immediately following their release”, good news for the Valve community. Assuming that it has taken feedback on Star Wars Outlaws into account, the French company also states that it intends to give more time to Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and in particular to its final touches, in order to “ meet its ambitions”.
Finally, regarding this latest Star Wars game, we learn that a series of updates designed to “refine and improve the player experience” has been planned, involving the mobilization of development teams with another specific objective: to engage a wider audience with the game during the holiday season and make it a sustainable title in the long term. Outlaws will be available on Steam on November 21.