Assassin’s Creed Shadows Faces a Second Delay

Ubisoft has once again pushed back the release of its highly anticipated game.

The company announced on Thursday that Assassin’s Creed Shadows will now debut on March 20, 2025. Initially set for a November 2024 release, the game had already been postponed to February 2025 to allow for more refinement and polish.

According to Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, this latest delay gives developers additional time to realize what he describes as the “most ambitious opus of the Assassin’s Creed franchise.” He mentioned that extending the development by another month allows the team to incorporate valuable player feedback received over the last few months. Guillemot emphasized that this extra time will help ensure the game reaches its full potential and wraps up the year on a high note.

The shift to a March release means Assassin’s Creed Shadows will face fewer competitors immediately at launch. February is crowded with expected heavyweights like Xbox and Obsidian’s Avowed and Capcom’s Monster Hunter Wilds arriving then.

However, Assassin’s Creed Shadows won’t be free from competition in 2025, with Ghost of Yōtei, the follow-up to PlayStation and Sucker Punch Productions’ hit Ghost of Tsushima, also set to release. The precise date for Ghost of Yōtei’s launch hasn’t been confirmed yet.

The Assassin’s Creed series has been a cornerstone for Ubisoft, with the last mainline game, 2020’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, ranking among its top-performing titles. As part of its strategic long-term plan, Ubisoft is also working on remakes of several older Assassin’s Creed games, reportedly including 2013’s Black Flag, famous for its pirate-themed adventures on the open seas.

Amid these game developments, Ubisoft is contending with financial hurdles. The company pointed to disappointing performance from Star Wars Outlaws as a factor in this struggle. Toward the end of the year, Ubisoft revealed plans to end support for its free-to-play shooter XDefiant by June 2025. This decision is accompanied by the closure of studios in San Francisco, Sydney, and Osaka, affecting around 277 employees involved with the game.

In light of these challenges, Ubisoft’s leadership is weighing options to enhance the company’s financial standing. CEO Yves Guillemot disclosed that advisors have been appointed to explore various strategic and financial opportunities to maximize asset value.

There’s speculation about a possible buyout that might involve the Guillemot family and Chinese conglomerate Tencent, potentially taking Ubisoft private. Notably, Ubisoft holds cloud gaming rights for Activision Blizzard King titles, a pivotal part of an arrangement struck with Microsoft during its acquisition of Activision Blizzard King in October 2023.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is currently scheduled for release on March 20, 2025, and will be available on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC (both Steam and the Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, Mac, and Amazon Luna.