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Assassin’s Creed Shadows delay due to Ubisoft finally listening to developers “pushing for a delay for some time”, says report"It’s a complicated question without a single answer"
“It’s a complicated question without a single answer”
Image credit:Ubisoft
Image credit:Ubisoft
Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Official World Premiere TrailerWatch on YouTube
Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Official World Premiere Trailer
Both Ubisoft’s claims of the game needing more time in the oven, and of taking lessons from Outlaws’ release - the game has apparently shiftedjust 1 million copies- are true to an extent, says the report. What’s new here is the revelation that, short of being the sort of humble, savvy pivot based on new information Ubisoft are framing it as, developers on the project have allegedly been pushing for the delay for a while now. Here’s how the report frames it:
So why was Shadows delayed? It’s a complicated question without a single answer, but it boils down to a strict development timeline, polishing, and addressing the Japanese community’s cultural and historical accuracy concerns.
As to that last point, sources told Insider Gaming that “the team has been actively addressing many of the historical and cultural concerns, which started before the game’s reveal following external playtests and were accelerated further following the game’s initial reveal and mass feedback.” This includes “changing some of Yasuke’s story and how he’s portrayed in the game, fixing architectural details, and ensuring that the game is historically grounded while fitting into the Assassin’s Creed universe.”
The report also quashes rumours that protagonist Yasuke is getting removed from the game. I haven’t heard these rumours personally, but I can take a wild guess to the sort of winning individual they originated with, and their incredibly sane and normal understanding of how games are made. It’s also worth pointing out how that “mass feedback” part chimes a little disconcertingly with arecent statementfrom chirpy cockney urchin Yves Guillemot in which he said that Ubi’s goal was “not to push any specific agenda”. Basically, it seems Guillemot is paying a little too much heed to people arguing in the wackest of faith.
Image credit:Ubisoft
“As for how these issues fell through the cracks,” writes Henderson, “I’m told that historical experts were brought onto the project much later than usual for a project of this magnitude and that miscommunication between teams and cutting corners when it came to the approval process of assets to meet deadlines were also at play.”
Ubisoft do seem to be feeling the heat at the moment. There’s a whole investor kerfuffle occurring over share prices thatEdwin covered here, and a second quarter performance that Guillemot says fell short of expectations.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is set to launch on the 14th of February, 2025.
