After Ubisoft pulled out of Tokyo Game Show 2024 at the last minute, and a report claimed that all hands-on previews for Assassin’s Creed Shadows had been cancelled and put on hold, concerns immediately spiraled into talks of Shadows being delayed.
Today, the confirmation came through from the studio that Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been delayed, announced with a press release updating investors on its financial targets for the fiscal year 2024-2025.
Instead of releasing this coming November 15, 2024, as was the previous plan, it’ll launch on February 14, 2025. What’s more is that Ubisoft also confirms that Shadows will be “departing from the Season Pass model,” which means that everyone will play the game when it launches next February.
The release cited the delay as an action the company took following the launch of Star Wars: Outlaws, which had not gone the way Ubisoft would’ve hoped, partly because its share price tanked for the first time in years.
“Assassin’s Creed Shadows will now be released on 14 February 2025. While the game is feature complete, the learnings from the Star Wars Outlaws release led us to provide additional time to further polish the title,” the release reads.
“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.
We are departing from the traditional Season Pass model. All players will be able toenjoy the game at the same time on February 14 and those who preorder the game will be granted the first expansion for free.”
Additionally, chief executive officer Yves Guillemot included a statement which you can read in full, below.
“Our second quarter performance fell short of our expectations, prompting us to address this swiftly and firmly, with an even greater focus on a player-centric, gameplay-first approach and an unwavering commitment to the long-term value of our brands.
Although the tangible benefits of the Company’s transformation are taking longer than anticipated to materialize, we keep on our strategy, focusing on two key verticals – Open World Adventures and GaaS-native experiences – with the objective to drive growth, recurrence and robust free cash flow generation in our business. In the light of recent challenges, we acknowledge the need for greater efficiency while delighting players.
As a result, beyond the first important short-term actions undertaken, the Executive Committee, under the supervision of the Board of Directors, is launching a review aimed at further improving our execution, notably in this player-centric approach, and accelerating our strategic path towards a higher performing model to the benefit of our stakeholders and shareholders.
Finally, let me address some of the polarized comments around Ubisoft lately. I want to reaffirm that we are an entertainment-first company, creating games for the broadest possible audience, and our goal is not to push any specific agenda. We remain committed to creating games for fans and players that everyone can.”
Source – [Ubisoft]