I never particularly cared for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla leading up to its release in November 2020. For many months, its existence barely registered in my brain, as I constantly referred to it as Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Lo and behold, it became a massive hit for the developer and would provide a nice bump in revenue for years to come. By comparison, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the next mainline title in the franchise, has been almost impossible to ignore.
The promise of an Assassin’s Creed in Feudal Japan has been vehemently demanded for years, and it’s finally happening. However, if it wasn’t controversies over historical accuracy or the use of a historical re-enactment group’s logo in their art book, then it was the usual skepticism over a Ubisoft title.
Before this year’s Tokyo Game Show, the developer planned to attend the official broadcast and, based on its line-up, potentially offer new gameplay and details for Shadows. Rumors circulated about the press going hands-on for upcoming previews, while a developer diary video outlining the base building aspect went up prematurely (and was subsequently taken down). Suddenly, the developer revealed that it cancelled the planned stream due to “various circumstances.” Reports then emerged that the hands-on previews were cancelled, prompting speculation of a delay.
One Ghost of Yōtei trailer later and it was official: Assassin’s Creed Shadows had been delayed to February 14th, 2025, that too after being feature-complete. Why?
According to the developer, it’s giving the title additional time for more polish. Star Wars Outlaws is a factor in prompting this, especially given the issues it launched with. “This will enable the biggest entry in the franchise to fully deliver on its ambition, notably by fulfilling the promise of our dual protagonist adventure, with Naoe and Yasuke bringing two very different gameplay styles.”
But that’s not all. It also confirmed that it’s doing away with the season pass model, with pre-orders receiving the first of two upcoming expansions for free. There’s no early access bonus for those who picked up the Gold or Ultimate Edition either. Everyone plays on the same day. If that wasn’t enough, Shadows marks the return of Assassin’s Creed titles to Steam as day-one releases.
There’s a lot to dissect from all of this. Obviously, the delay occurred because the company wanted to iron out any bugs and issues. If that preview event was indeed meant to happen and faced cancellation, then it’s more than likely because the developer doesn’t want that build to represent the current state of Shadows. Even if there aren’t any severe game-breaking issues that it’s unaware of, the extra time is to ensure a more polished product, hopefully generating more positive buzz.
This is where Star Wars Outlaws comes in. Despite having the “biggest marketing campaign”, the developer revealed that sales had been “softer than expected.” Chalk it up to unrealistic expectations for the title (initially earmarked to sell seven million copies by March 31st, 2025 before getting downgraded to five million by analysts). However, word of mouth wasn’t the best. Despite some positive reviews, plenty of criticism emerged surrounding the movement, AI, and stealth mechanics.
Those who could stomach all that and more by sheer virtue of loving Star Wars despite its own fatigue also didn’t have the best early access launch, with an update that resulted in progression blockers for those continuing on the same save. A post-launch update also smoothened the movement and reduced the difficulty of the initial stealth missions. Combined with the upcoming expansions and the fact that Shadows would launch a few months later, it only reinforced the idea that it’s better to wait for more updates before buying.
You could argue that Ubisoft titles quickly going on sale after release doesn’t help, and you would be right. While Massive Entertainment has committed to further improving the title and bringing it to Steam on November 21st alongside the first expansion, Wild Card, it only reinforces the notion that it’s better to wait. Why spend full price or more for a less-than-ideal experience when you could wait, especially if nothing about Outlaws screams “must play”?
I think the delay is more than ensuring a higher level of polish or providing a better launch experience than Outlaws. It’s also about improving the reputation of said titles at launch. There are hundreds of factors preventing someone from buying a game on day one. In February alone, Shadows has to worry about other titles like Monster Hunter Wilds, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and Avowed.
However, if a title sports fewer issues, someone may be less wary about giving you their money on day one. While it’s a given that a mainline Assassin’s Creed would perform better out of the gate than Outlaws (a new and untested IP, at the end of the day), this further increases its chances of success while giving potential customers fewer reasons to wait and pick it up later.
The fact that it’s launching day one on Steam means removing other barriers for potential customers, though it could also just be the developer smartening up. Why launch a title on the Epic Games Store only to bring it to Steam later at a discounted price? The timed exclusivity money may be nice, but so is selling your game at full price to a large player base on day one.
Perhaps most importantly, the additional polish will ensure more positive word of mouth around the title, which could mean more sales. Then again, you can only do so much to ensure everything is technically sound with little bugs (because it won’t be issue-free at launch – let’s be real). Free expansions and no early access to squeeze additional money out of players are also all well and good.
However, the game itself needs to be enjoyable. It needs to be fun. If the combat feels like a drag or the parkour isn’t as fluid as last year’s Assassin’s Creed Mirage, then it could hamper the initial response. Maybe even result in some less-than-positive reviews around launch time. Those may not have as big of a factor on the sales of Shadows as they did for Star Wars Outlaws, but at this point, it’s clear that the developer doesn’t want to take any risks.
Then again, it’s only providing so much leeway to its development team to fix any core issues and improve the overall gameplay. The fact that it’s launching on February 14th and not much closer to the end of the fiscal year could mean it wants the title to spend as much time on the market as possible to present something positive to shareholders.
It’s not quite the time to sound the alarm for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, because we have no idea what state the game is in. Once more details and gameplay from a recent build become available, we may have a clearer picture of its overall state and potential for success.
However, the developer recognizes that its current monetization and release plans aren’t working and something needs to change. That’s some proof of not being blind to feedback. It could also signify how much is riding on Assassin’s Creed Shadows and how it can’t afford another underwhelming release (especially when a better-looking and much more hyped competitor is out in the same year). Here’s hoping the additional time is enough to deliver a winner because, at this point, it definitely needs one.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.