Ubisoft has officially delayed Assassin’s Creed Shadows to next year while removing its seasonal model and making the first expansion free. However, following the announcement of Ghost of Yōtei, one has to wonder if it would impact sales. After all, they’re both action-adventure games set in Feudal Japan.
CEO Yves Guillemot addressed this in a recent conference call (transcription by VGC). “I would like to say that there’s a lot of space for very high-quality games, and those two games can sell very well.”
Chief financial officer Frederick Duguet also revealed that the team is working to ensure a “fantastic experience.” “On the competition related to Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the focus is really to make sure that we deliver a fantastic experience, with the game’s dual protagonist approach, with two different and complementary gameplays, with Yasuke and Naoe, in a setting taking place in feudal Japan that should be really enticing.
“So all the focus and everything that really informs our decision [to delay the game] is to make sure that we polish the game and provide this fantastic promise.”
Sony has already confirmed no titles in its major franchises before April 2025, so Shadows should have more than enough time on the market without the competition. Whether the extra development time ensures a stronger launch than Star Wars Outlaws remains to be seen.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is out on February 14th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Among other changes, it also marks the return of Ubisoft titles to Steam as day one releases. Stay tuned for more updates in the coming months.