The surprise was great when Ubisoft announced that Assassin’s Creed Shadows would not be released as planned at the end of 2024, but only in February 2025 This delay disappointed many fans, but the development team requested more time to ensure that the title would meet the high expectations. Officially, Ubisoft spoke of additional fine-tuning, but insiders report far more profound causes that led to this decision. The company wanted to learn from the mistakes of other projects, such as the premature release of Star Wars Outlaws, which came onto the market with many problems.
Another factor was the enormous time pressure under which the team was working. In addition to technical hurdles, the historical accuracy of the game also played a major role. In particular, the japanese community expressed concerns regarding the way certain cultural and historical aspects of the game were handled. The developers did not want to ignore these criticisms and worked hard to make the right adjustments.
Cultural challenges and technical obstacles
The portrayal of Yasuke, one of the game’s main characters, also came under fire. He is based on a real historical figure, an African samurai in Japan, and the team is striving to create a respectful and authentic implementation. Despite rumors that Yasuke would be completely removed from the game, it turned out that the team was merely working on the details of his portrayal. The early playtests also provided valuable feedback that the developers took seriously and want to implement.
But in addition to cultural aspects, there were also technical challenges that prevented the original November release. Experts in historical authenticity were brought into the project too late, which led to internal misunderstandings. Furthermore, bugs and other technical problems blocked progress. Several members of the development team therefore advocated a postponement earlier on. Ubisoft ultimately decided to use the additional time to bring the game to a high level of quality and ensure the success of the brand.
