Release of “Assassin's Creed Shadows” postponed to February 2025

The launch of “Assassin's Creed Shadows” has been postponed from the currently planned November 15th to February 14th, 2025.

Game maker Ubisoft announced the news on Wednesday, citing a weak performance of the new title “Star Wars Outlaws” and lower-than-expected profit in the current quarter as key factors for the release of the next installment in the “Assassin's Creed” series.

According to Ubisoft, “While the game is complete, the lessons learned from the release of Star Wars Outlaws have led us to allocate additional time to further refine the title. This will allow the franchise's biggest entry to fully live up to its ambition, particularly by delivering on the promise of our dual-protagonist adventure, with Naoe and Yasuke bringing two very different playstyles.”

In addition, Ubisoft states that Assassin's Creed Shadows will be available on Steam on release day, which represents a break from the company's current strategy and also deviates from Ubisoft's typical season pass model, as “all players will be able to enjoy the game simultaneously on February 14, and those who pre-order the game will receive the first expansion for free.”

Following “weaker than expected” sales of Star Wars Outlaws following its August 30 release, Ubisoft says its development teams are “currently fully mobilized to rapidly implement a series of updates to refine and improve the gameplay experience to appeal to a wide audience during the holiday season and position Star Wars Outlaws as a strong long-term performer.” Ubisoft says Outlaws will launch on Steam on November 21.

Along with the news about “Assassin's Creed Shadows” and “Star Wars Outlaws,” Ubisoft announced a new financial forecast for the fiscal year on Wednesday. Among other things, it cuts net orders for the full year to around 1.95 billion euros and net orders for the second quarter to 350 to 370 million euros.

Ubisoft co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot said Wednesday that an executive committee overseen by the board of directors is “launching a review aimed at further improving our execution, particularly around this player-centric approach, and accelerating our strategic path towards a higher performing model for the benefit of our stakeholders and shareholders.”

“Our second quarter performance fell short of our expectations, prompting us to address this quickly and decisively, with an even stronger focus on a player-centric, gameplay-first approach and an unwavering commitment to the long-term value of our brands,” Guillemot said in a statement on Wednesday. “While the tangible benefits of the company's transformation are taking longer than expected to materialize, we remain committed to our strategy and are focused on two key verticals – Open World Adventures and GaaS-native experiences – with the goal of driving growth, iteration and robust free cash flow generation in our business. Given recent challenges, we recognize the need for greater efficiency while delighting players. Therefore, beyond the initial key near-term actions, the Executive Committee, under the oversight of the Board of Directors, is initiating a review aimed at further improving our execution, particularly in this player-centric approach, and accelerating our strategic path toward a higher performing model for the benefit of our stakeholders and shareholders. Finally, let me address some of the polarizing comments about Ubisoft recently. I want to reiterate that we are a company that puts entertainment first and creates games for the widest possible audience. Our goal is not to push a particular agenda. We remain committed to creating games for fans and players that are fun for everyone.”

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