Ubisoft says Assassin's Creed Shadows is "the most ambitious entry in the franchise" and was delayed last-minute because "we really want to make sure execution is flawless"

Ubisoft says Assassin's Creed Shadows is the series' "most ambitious entry yet" and that the last-minute decision to delay it to February 2025 was made to ensure its "execution is flawless".

During Ubisoft's latest investor call, CFO Frederick Duguet shared some insights on the decision to delay Assassin's Creed Shadows. The game was previously scheduled to release on November 12, and according to Duguet, it is currently "feature complete" and was close enough to being finished that Ubisoft was preparing to offer preview builds to the press.

"As you might know, we were about to run previews, so very close to shipping," said Duguet. "What we see is that there is, with additional months, the possibility to really further polish the game so that the experience is really flawless and perfect to deliver the fantastic promise of the most ambitious entry in the franchise ... What we want to do is really to bring quality to the highest level possible .... We really want to make sure execution is flawless."

Duguet later said the delay cost Ubisoft "around 20 million" euros, suggesting the company had a pretty darn good reason to push the game back a few months. That said, the delay to 2025 puts Assassin's Creed Shadows in more direct competition with Sucker Punch's recently announced de facto sequel to Ghost of Tsushima, titled Ghost of Yotei, and that isn't lost on Ubisoft. In response to an investor who pointed out the two games' similarities, Duguet emphasized Assassin's Creed Shadows' "dual protagonist approach" and "different and complementary gameplay" as distinguishing factors.

Assassin's Creed fans have waited years for a game set in Japan, but Ubisoft thinks Shadows is "great timing" and part of the developer's "natural evolution".