Ubisoft, the home of blockbuster franchises like Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six, has been having a less-than-stellar year. Even its AAA games of 2024, like Star Wars Outlaws and Skull and Bones, have not met the company's revenue expectations. In a massive shift, Ubisoft even delayed Assassin's Creed Shadows out of the year to early 2025, missing out on a key holiday sales window.
It seems Ubisoft is keen to change the sentiment gamers have towards the company and its games going forward, though, and Shadows is in the middle of that plan. As reported by Eurogamer, at a BAFTA event speech, Assassin’s Creed franchise executive producer Marc-Alexis Coté has said that "Ubisoft's portfolio has faced criticism in recent years for a perceived inconsistency in quality."
"Players expect more polish, more innovation and deeper engagement from the games we release, and they're not shy about letting us know when they feel we have fallen short," he says. "Assassin's Creed Shadows represents our opportunity to change that narrative, not just for Assassin's Creed, but I think for Ubisoft as a whole."
According to Coté, the Assassin's Creed Unity backlash from 2014 for its bug-ridden launch is something the company doesn't want to be repeated, which had been one of the reasons for the Assassin's Creed Shadows delay decision.
"After much reflection and analysis, I recommended to our top management to delay the release of Assassin's Creed Shadows," Coté continued. "Our playtests and team feedback made it clear Shadows had immense potential, but I felt we needed more time to ensure it fully meets the high expectations of our players.
Coté says that the latest installment is the company's most ambitious game ever due to its complex use of new mechanics, narrative elements, and technologies. The extra time the developers are getting is reportedly being used to polish the experience as much as possible, which is making Ubisoft spend an additional $20 million in development costs.
Assassin's Creed Shadows is currently slated to land on February 14, 2025. It is coming to PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5. Ubisoft has also ditched all timed exclusivity plans on PC, with it releasing on Steam day one alongside other stores like Ubisoft Connect and Epic Games Store.
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