The first gameplay footage of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, a game that fans have been asking for years at this point, finally debuted in June 2024. However, the initial reveal caused quite a stir, especially in the Japanese gaming community. Japanese fans were outraged primarily regarding Yasuke, one of two AC Shadows protagonists, and the historical and cultural mistakes that Ubisoft had made.

Following the outcry, Ubisoft delayed Assassin’s Creed Shadows to February 2025. Insider Gaming now alleges that the decision to push the release date of the game back wasn’t made in a jiffy, as the developers had been imploring for a delay for a while.

Reasons behind Assassin’s Creed Shadows delay

Following the underwhelming reception of Star Wars Outlaws, Ubisoft reportedly didn’t want to risk another game not meeting sales expectations. So, the release date ofAssassin’s Creed Shadows was pushed back to give the team more time to fix bugs and refine the overall gameplay experience.

Per Insider Gaming, Ubisoft is also looking to address the cultural and historical issues that were raised by the community following the initial reveal. These issues seemingly arose because of a strict development schedule which prompted cost-cutting. The studio also failed to bring in experts on time to ensure historical, cultural, and architectural accuracy.

Insider Gaming’s claim that Assassin’s Creed Shadows “is currently not at the stage it needs to be for release” is shared by PH Brazil. The leaker suggests that, currently, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is riddled with bugs. This apparently prompted Ubisoft to delay the game as the company didn’t want to release a buggy AC title.

On the topic of reception, PH Brazil also alleges that Ubisoft has internally set a sales target of 10 million for Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Ubisoft might end up reaching the sales target if it releases a stable title with minimal bugs, since the company is reportedly satisfied with the quality of the game.

All in all, it appears that Ubisoft delayingAssassin’s Creed Shadowsfor a few months has given the developers a much-needed breathing room. We hope that the developers utilize it well, resulting in a polished experience for the fans and not like the one we got with Star Wars Outlaws.