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Assassin's Creed Shadows Delayed on PS5 Until 14th February

Staying in the shadows

by · Push Square
Game Profile

https://images.pushsquare.com/0bf42961129e3/assassins-creed-shadows-cover.cover_small.jpg
Title:
Assassin's Creed Shadows
System:
PlayStation 5
Also Available For:
Xbox Series X|S
Publisher:
Ubisoft
Developer:
Ubisoft
Genre:
Action, Adventure, RPG
Players:
1
Release Date:
PlayStation 5
https://static.pushsquare.com/themes/base/images/flags/us.gif 14th Feb 2025
https://static.pushsquare.com/themes/base/images/flags/eu.gif 14th Feb 2025
Series:
Assassin's Creed
Official Site:
ubisoft.com
Where to buy:
Pre Order on Amazon

Ubisoft’s anticipated Japanese sandbox Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been delayed on PS5 until 14th February. The game was originally due out on 15th November, but was pulled out of the Tokyo Game Show at the very last minute earlier this week.

It means February is going to be a congested period for new releases, with other big games such as Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii and Monster Hunter Wilds out on 28th February.

In a statement, the French publisher said it had learned from the launch of Star Wars Outlaws, and wanted to polish the release further.

“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 firm explained. “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.”

Elsewhere, the organisation said it will deviate from its traditional Season Pass model, with everyone who pre-orders able to experience the release’s first expansion for free. There’ll be no Early Access either: everyone will be able to play on the same day, from 14th February.

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Sony announced Ghost of Yotei overnight, a rival open world game set in historical Japan. While this is unlikely to have influenced Ubisoft’s decision, the existence of the Sucker Punch sequel will potentially have an impact on Assassin’s Creed Shadows – especially with a 2025 release window attached to the PS5 exclusive.

[source staticctf.ubisoft.com]

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About Sammy Barker

As the Editor of Push Square, Sammy has over 15 years of experience analysing the world of PlayStation, from PS3 through PS5 and everything in between. He’s an expert on PS Studios and industry matters, as well as sports games and simulators. He also enjoys RPGs when he has the time to dedicate to them, and is a bit of a gacha whale.

Comments 67

What the heck!? Man... I was looking forward to this. Ah well, more time to play Metaphor and Alan Wake 2 I guess!

Well, that’s one less game to play this year…

I may flat out cancel my preorder for this one since Ghost 2 looks so much better than it too.

Definitely wasn't in response to Ghost of Yotei but probably couldn't have been timed any worse lol

Wow, didn't see that coming...

Damn this never happened for an ac game

Probably for the best and they're including the first expansion with all future preorders, as they're moving away from the season pass model. Perhaps they're finally learning from their mistakes

Well damn i was going to use this as my Pro "launch title".

Really disappointed by this.Despite all the hate it's been getting I've been extremely excited for this game!Still plenty of other games to play..

Such a late delay, and no details given. Feels like there's a story here beyond the usual "needs more time to polish".

Oooooof that stock price plummet will continue and the shareholders wanting the Guillemots out are only going to be further galvanised in warranting having them kicked out of their own company.

Still going to be the death nail in Ubisoft's coffin

@Ainu20 There are details. Sorry for the long post.

Listening to players' feedback, and as an illustration of our player-centric approach, the following important decisions relative to Assassin's Creed Shadows have been taken:

  • 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. 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 to enjoy the game at the same time on February 14 and those who preorder the game will be granted the first expansion for free.
  • The game will mark the return of our new releases on Steam Day 1.

As my backlog is big right now, and I'm still to play Mirage, I can wait, no problem. Take your time Ubisoft.

At this rate they'll push it back to August 6th or 9th the way they're going iykyk

@Athrum Yeah the article has been updated now, I guess I saw it just after it was posted without reasons given.

Interesting stuff, sounds like Star Wars Outlaws triggered some alarm bells within the company.

Don't blame Ubi for delaying it to give it more polish. I'm honestly excited for it since I love samurai settings.

I guess the most positive thing to come from this is that Ubisoft appear to have learnt that releasing a game that has issues does not review favourably. Thus, all those middling reviews for Outlaws that they said they were disappointed with, and which likely led to fewer sales, is potentially the driver here for the delay. Ultimately, if this means we get a better, more polished game, then really, we have nothing to lose, and everything to gain...

@Athrum Are gamers finally voting with their wallets as well as their voices? I imagine preorders of those rip-off editions must have fell well below what they would have hoped, and it seems people largely stayed clear of that mid-Outlaws game, too.

I hope it's better than the last two.. I know I'll end up playing it either way though 😛

“ The game will mark the return of our new releases on Steam Day 1.”

Nice! Guess I can preorder now!!!

Good job, Ubisoft. It might have taken you 15 years to remember this, but it's generally a good idea to delay games to polish them up. Good for games, good for press, and usually good for developers.

Maybe I'll even try getting the money together to buy this one at launch, now. Unless I'm busy buying Metroid Prime, or something.

It’s not just learning from Outlaws but also being humbled by the steep nosedive in their stock price. Welcome to reality, Ubisoft.

The Ghost of Yotei claimed her first kill. Probably unrelated but the timing couldn't be more comical.

@jeff19023 The expression is either death knell or final nail in the coffin. I know. I am being pedantic.

@QiaraIris While I'm sure this is facetious, the idea that SP simply announcing a Ghosts follow-up prompted Ubi to release their Ghost-adjacent game (if we're pretending Ghosts wasn't AC-adjacent in the first place) CLOSER to the release of Ghosts 2 is hilariously ludicrous.

Since when did 'lessons' become 'learnings'? (bleurgh).

Would love to play this soon but if the delay means improvements then I can understand. I guess I have two games that are set in feudal Japan to look forward to next year then.

Also did I read that right? Ubisoft finally admits that they needed Steam more than Steam needs them????

Thanos Back to Me GIF

How bad a state were they prepared to release it in if they now need another 5 months of development??

Removed - inappropriate

Time to truly research japan and remove/correct all the wrong assests (the flags, the temples, landmarks, trees, the harvest season, fields, all the bad AI generated stuff, etc.), hahaha xD and maybe remove a protagonist while you're at it or something^^

@QiaraIris This might actually be Yotei's first kill. AC Shadows is now releasing within the same year as Ghost of Yotei which will definitely be stiff competition. With all the controversy surrounding Shadows, Yotei will likely dominate it in sales.

This is nothing to do with satisfying gamers, this is all about share price, they can't afford the bad publicity at the moment. If the share price was riding high you could guarantee they'd be willing to serve up a dog's dinner

2 weeks before MHWilds?

Sorry Ubisoft it means it will be bought further down the line.

I missed whatever drama there was around Star Wars outlaws, but I bought it and it’s easily the best ubisoft game I’ve played in years.

@PloverNutter Oh man, Yotei will absolutely dominate in sales. I got the exact same goosebumps and excitements just like when they announced Ghost of Tsushima for the first time ever. Sucker Punch really nailed the blade combat in this series so it will be a D1 for me.

@carlos82 And they're launching on steam day 1 instead of the bs of not releasing it there for like 6 months. This might actually be a Ubisoft W for once.

@PloverNutter Shadows will be on all platforms day one and the controversy won't have any impact at all just like Hogwarts Legacy was unaffected.

Meanwhile Yotei will only be releasing on PS5 so I severely doubt it will sell more than Shadows. I'll be getting both anyway as I don't have a side in this and I find this whole Assassins Creed vs Ghost's thing really weird.

@Fiendish-Beaver I doubt that is why they are actually delaying it, but if it is, then good. But it is more likely because they want to make the next fiscal year stand out, avoid any potential reduced sales from bad press and hope people have calmed down by then. They can't afford any more flack this year, so they are running scared 😅

AC games don't usually launch badly, and AC valhalla made over a billion.

I mean, I think that’s wise. They really messed up with the Nendoroid thing.

Using a memorial to the Nagasaki nuclear bombing… to promote the game…

Jeez.

Would be really funny if Ghost of Yotei release in February 😁

I wanna be annoyed by this… but conversely, I’m also happy about the delays since I’ve so much other on my plate currently. Will now give me more time for Metaphor and Dragon Quest 3 for the rest of the year.

@DennisReynolds I wonder if this delay will affect day 1 sales of PS5 Pro? After all, AC Shadows would have been the first new game to take advantage of the Pro’s power.

February, isn't that the same month as Kingdom Come 2, Monster Hunter Wilds, Avowed and Civ VII? 😬

Better give Shadows more then the renowned Ubislop polish this time.

Already 4 more notable games for February as of now. This game is still screwed.

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Feb 11
Avowed Feb 18
Monster Hunter Wilds Feb 28
Like a dragon Pirate Yakuza Feb 28

Releasing in the same month as Monster Hunter Wilds is a death sentence...

Super Bummed about this but it does mean I have two really really long new games to look forward to next year on series x and ps5. So that's good.

They have a lot of games in development and looking forward to play two of them if they manage to release them and that's a Remake of Prince of Persia and Splinter Cell.

I do like their recent PoP game and AC Mirage was enjoyable too. Actually love the shorter experiences myself.

Very interested in what the "various circumstances" mean for real!

I mean... this is pretty emblematic of Ubisoft's deeper problem: it took them until a tepid response to a Star Wars game in the year of our lord 2024 to realize releasing janky ass games loaded with problems is not a path to financial success.

Ubisoft games have been riddled with poorly thought out systems and engine jank and glitches and copy paste design for yeeeeeeeeears. But it finally caught up to them.

They were never going to fix things when people still plopped down money for their *****. And sure enough, they didn't at any broad level. But the market got wise to it and NOW they want to act like they're doing the right thing for the players. But their history shows they've never really embraced that mentality at all.

This is purely to stave off what they knew would be considerable criticism of a game they NEED to be successful. That's it. They're giving away expansions because no one was pre-ordering Shadows and no one was paying even more for the season pass. Not at the numbers they expected or needed. This isn't in good faith.

I think the problems at Ubisoft run far deeper than the rampant sexual assault allegations. That surely wasn't helping, but the bigger problem is management. That's apparent. They've had years to course correct but what have we really seen since? Immortals (undersold), Farcry 6 (awful step backwards in design and a tepid response to its release), an Avatar game that is copy paste Farcry Primal (undersold expectations), a Prince of Persia remake (delayed indefinitely due to jank), Skull & Bones (horrendously undersold expectations after years of turmoil), a solid "classic" PoP (well-received but undersold), a "back to basics" AC Mirage (undersold), a Division spinoff that got canned before it ever released, XDefiant (great launch, DEEP design problems they never addressed during years of betas and now its player numbers are cratering), Outlaws (undersold), and this... probably even more I can't think of.

I can't name a single Ubisoft game that far exceeded expectations since their scandals broke. AC Valhalla probably? But even that isn't the most beloved by the broader AC fandom because it was considered heavily bloated (after multiple titles that were also considered heavily bloated).

Their issues run DEEP and they are still present. That's abundantly clear to anyone paying attention.

Interesting, for changing the first expac to be a preorder bonus and ditching the "early access" as much as anything. Evidently they must be seeing that their years-running approach of making their "Gold/Ultimate" editions more and more expensive with the hope that people will fork out predominantly for those 72 hours just isn't - for various reasons - doing them any favours. It'll be interesting to see how the price of the deluxe editions changes respectively with these things cut out.

@ATaco To be fair, at least it's now coming before something, instead of shortly after Metaphor, CoD and Dragon Age. Whether they're the general gaming crowd or more specific audiences, there was lots of hard competition lined up for the original date.

A definite bummer to say the least but I'm still very excited for it. Yakuza might actually have to wait a bit now that month.

On the bright side this gives me plenty of time to play Metaphor and maybe even Dragon Age now.

The last time they cancelled a season pass and released dlc for free was when unity came out busted.

@Cloud39472 The difference is the hogwarts "controversy" was not due to the game it was because a vocal minority were crying over someone who had nothing to do with the game beyond probably collecting royalties.

There is a lot to cry about in shadows just like there was in outlaws for example the architecture has been found to be wrong and the combat is the same floaty trash ripped straight from valhalla, like you don't even need to play the game to see how floaty it is because it's so visual with it if you have any time in valhalla you've pretty much played shadows combat wise.

@Cloud39472 Hogwarts Legacy isn't a good comparison because the controversy around that game was that the IP's creator is a bigot. There was no controversy regarding the contents of the game itself, especially since the game features a trans character in a pretty prominent role. With AC Shadows the controversy is regarding the contents of the game itself. People can separate the art from the artist as long as the art itself does not reflect the negative views of the artist.

i'll be busy with silent hill 2 for a while , also the horizon remaster is coming out in October 31st so i'll prob upgrade and do a ng+ on that. if they take the extra time to polish up the game , then i'm all for the delay.

@Deityjester honestly unity got a lot of hate , but once they patched it up and fixed some of the issues , it actually was a pretty fun game , i actually loved the setting a lot.

They realised they couldn't release a broken game and get away with it this time lmao

Well since it's being Delayed (more polish, able to print the Discs later with a complete/polished build on them) and the same Release for everyone (no Early Access Period) I hope they'll drop that BS "Internet Required for Initial Installation", apparently that was related to Early Release access and stuff in the past (Avatar had it, not sure about other Ubi games that had it though)

They saw Ghost of Yōtei, they got scared of a true Japan-based game

So there’s no point in preordering anything but standard. I preordered the CE more for the physical goodies, but getting a bad feeling. Still, my money won’t be taken for a while, so I will keep it…for now. On another note, no longer interferes with Dragon Quest III! Yay!

@PloverNutter @Deityjester It's a good enough comparison because both games/IP's are far bigger than their controversies.

The average consumer of Assassin's Creed isn't going to care about any of the things you mentioned. If they did then the series would've started selling less after Origins but they just keep selling more and more with each entry.

I'm guessing they aren't meeting their pre-order numbers so are now adding that as a bonus 🤔

Looking forward to the game but the backlog is real 😭

Not interested in any of the other releases in February so indeed love will be in the air for me Feb 14 😃

@MrRhysReviews I hope so too because it kind of makes disks useless.

So Ubisoft saw the Ghost trailer and thought, we need to cook more. lol.

@BIG3 if we get a better game because of it , i'm all for it. i want assasisns creed to be great , and i want ghosts to be great too.

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