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Assassin's Creed Shadows has been delayed until February 14, 2025, at least partly in response to the reception of Star Wars Outlaws.
"While the game is feature complete," Ubisoft says in a statement to investors, "the learnings from the Star Wars Outlaws release led us to provide additional time to further polish the title." The company says that the Star Wars game's "initial sales proved softer than expected," but in the wake of a number of updates in response to player feedback, it hopes that it will be "a strong long-term performer."
Additionally, Ubisoft is "departing from the traditional Season Pass model" with Assassin's Creed Shadows and will give away the game's first expansion to everyone who pre-orders. Shadows will also be released on Steam on day one, in contrast to timed exclusive launches on Ubisoft's own PC store.
"This is an ambitious addition to the franchise, a rich experience that can be lived through the eyes of two unique protagonists," the developers add in a message to fans, "but we realize we need more time to polish and refine the experience, pushing further some of our key features." All current pre-orders will be refunded.
Earlier this year, Ubisoft essentially said it was going to make good games again after a "turnaround" led by Assassin's Creed Mirage with the intent to "return to leadership in the open-world" genre. Star Wars Outlaws launched to good but unspectacular reviews, and certainly doesn't seem to have been the hit Ubisoft was hoping for. Here's hoping Assassin's Creed Shadows can set a solid standard for all the upcoming Ubisoft games to follow.
