While we weren’t entirely surprised by the announcement, it was still very disappointing to learn that Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been delayed and won’t be released until early next year.
Ubisoft didn’t give us any real explanation for the decision, which left the gaming community with a plethora of speculation and conspiracy theories (one of the most delusional claimed that the game would get a new protagonist instead of Yasuke). Now, the usually very reliable Tom Henderson has published a meaty report on Insider Gaming where he goes through the real reasons.
He writes that it’s not due to any single issue, but “it boils down to a strict development timeline, polishing, and addressing the Japanese community’s cultural and historical accuracy concerns”. The latter is based in part on the feedback Ubisoft received from its Japanese fans. Henderson calls the idea that Yasuke would be replaced simply “wild rumours” and says that it is pure nonsense, but on the other hand, some of the character’s story and presentation in the adventure will be reviewed.
Henderson writes that Ubisoft should have seen a lot of this before the game got this close to launch (it was supposed to arrive next month), and mentions perhaps the most important thing of all, namely bugs and general polish. He summarises that “the game is currently not at the stage it needs to be for release”.
And with that we know. The wild conspiracy theories were nothing more than just wild conspiracy theories, and all the game needed was to be tweaked according to feedback and some honest TLC – tender loving care. On February 14, it’s premiere for Assassin’s Creed Shadows to PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X.