Assassin’s Creed Shadows will finally release next month, but what made Ubisoft to postpone the release of the game back in 2024?

2024 has been one of the most disastrous years for Ubisoft. Apart from three highly flopped title releases, the company also decided to postpone the release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the one game that gamers were actually excited about.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows was supposed to launch last year | Image Credits: Ubisoft

Assassin’s Creed Shadows was supposed to be the game that saved Ubisoft from its constant decline, but even that got delayed in 2024. But now, the developers have finally confirmed that it will be released this year. Why did Ubisoft even delay the launch when this game was supposed to revive the company’s fortunes? Let’s delve deeper.

Where did Assassin’s Creed Shadows go wrong?

Yasuke is an African-origin samurai in feudal Japan | Image Credits: Ubisoft

The whole Assassin’s Creed series has a major fan following because of its historical accuracy and captivating storyline. Assassin’s Creed Shadows is not going to be a stranger to that concept. This upcoming action RPG will take place in feudal Japan and was supposed to be released in September 2024, but the game got delayed for various reasons, including a controversy regarding the protagonist.

Although the franchise has a devoted fan base, Assassin’s Creed Shadows has met with extreme backlash since the reveal of its protagonist, Yasuke. In the game, Ubisoft made Yasuke an African samurai, and some people were debating whether he was a real person or not. While the gaming company often takes historical liberties to make the game more fun and interesting, they really fumbled on this one.

This backlash resulted in Ubisoft delaying the launch of the game and postponing it to 2025. In a recent conversation between Insider Gaming and the developers of the game, they stated that the game would launch on 20 March of this year, and one source even commented that the game is “pretty much done.” The CEO of Ubisoft, Yves Guillemot said that the early previews of the game have been positive.

Early previews have been positive, praising its narrative and immersive experience, with both characters playing critical roles in the game’s storyline, as well as the quality and complementarity of the gameplay provided by the dual protagonist approach,

Assassin’s Creed Shadows, currently has over 300,000 pre-orders as of 18 February and it’s estimated that the game will sell almost 3.5 million units in its first month.

Ubisoft probably messed up with this one

Sales are looking pretty good for Ubisoft despite controversy | Image Credits: Ubisoft

The inclusion of an African-origin samurai in feudal Japan angered a lot of Japanese fans who wanted the protagonist to be an indigenous Japanese samurai and not a foreigner. This led to Ubisoft issuing an apology to them and stating that their games never follow history the way it is.

Regardless of the controversy surrounding the protagonist of the game and the subsequent delays, Ubisoft has finally managed to announce the release date of Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Players and critics alike are excited about how the game will turn out, and only time will tell, whether this title will save Ubisoft or accelerate its further downfall. With strong pre-order numbers and positive early impressions, the game has the potential to reignite interest in the franchise.