Ubisoft has delayed Assassin's Creed Shadows by three months.
The open-world adventure game was due out November 12, 2024. It now launches February 14, 2025. In a statement, Ubisoft said it needs more time "to polish and refine the experience, pushing further some of our key features."
Meanwhile, Ubisoft confirmed that Assassin's Creed Shadows will release on Steam day-one, unlike the PC version of the company's previous major release, Star Wars Outlaws. Preorders will be refunded, and Ubisoft is departing from the traditional season pass model, with all future preorders granted the first expansion for free.
In a note to the investment community, Ubisoft said that while Assassin's Creed Shadows was "feature complete", the "learnings" from the release of Star Wars Outlaws "led us to provide additional time to further polish the title." Star Wars Outlaws had a "softer than expected launch," Ubisoft said.
"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.
In a follow-up conference call with financial analysts, Ubisoft confirmed the Assassin's Creed Shadows delay will amount to an extra cost of €20 million ($22.2 million).
The Assassin's Creed Shadows delay comes amid a troubling time for Ubisoft that has seen its share price collapse following the release of Star Wars Outlaws. Earlier this month, a minority investor in Ubisoft issued a strongly worded open letter to Ubisoft’s board of directors, including its CEO Yves Guillemot, as well as fellow investor Tencent, that expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of the company and its current share price.