Ubisoft
appears
to
in
a
state
of
panic
and
confusion
at
the
moment
as
it
announces
a
delay
to
the
upcoming
Assassin’s
Creed:
Shadows.
Hints
that
something
was
going
on
with
Ubisoft
emerged
yesterday
when
the
company
suddenly
pulled
out
of
the
Tokyo
Game
Show
at
the
last
minute.
Word
then
got
out
that
press
previews
for
Assassin’s
Creed:
Shadows
that
were
scheduled
to
take
place
next
week
had
also
be
canceled.
Ubisoft
has
been
struggling
for
years
now.
In
2018
its
shares
were
the
highest
they’ve
ever
been
at
over
100
euros,
but
since
then
they’ve
declined
and
are
now
at
their
lowest
price
(a
measly
11.42
euros)
in
nearly
a
decade,
which
seems
to
be
why
Ubisoft
is
now
making
some
changes.
2023
was
especially
rough,
with
a
drop
of
50%
in
share
value.
Advertisements
The
French
company’s
share
prices
took
another
hit
just
last
week
when
it
became
apparent
that
Star
Wars:
Outlaws
sales
weren’t
as
strong
as
they
had
hoped.
“Additionally,
despite
solid
ratings
(Metacritic
76)
and
user
scores
across
the
First
Party
and
Epic
stores
(3.9/5)
that
reflect
an
immersive
and
authentic
Star
Wars
universe,
Star
Wars
Outlaws
initial
sales
proved
softer
than
expected,”
Ubisoft
said
in
a
financial
statement
released
today.
“In
response
to
player
feedback,
Ubisoft’s
development
teams
are
currently
fully
mobilized
to
swiftly
implement
a
series
of
updates
to
polish
and
improve
the
player
experience
in
order
to
engage
a
large
audience
during
the
holiday
season
to
position
Star
Wars
Outlaws
as
a
strong
long-term
performer.”
Seemingly
as
a
response
to
its
struggles,
Ubisoft
made
several
big
announcements.
First,
Assassin’s
Creed:
Shadows,
Ubisoft’s
biggest
release
of
the
year,
has
now
been
delayed
until
February
14,
2025.
Ubisoft
stated
that
the
game’s
content
is
finished,
but
the
delay
is
to
give
Shadows
some
extra
polish.
“While
the
game
is
feature
complete,
the
learnings
from
the
Star
Wars
Outlaws
release
led
us
to
provide
additional
time
to
further
polish
the
title,”
Ubisoft
said.
“This
will
enable
the
biggest
entry
in
the
franchise
to
fully
deliver
on
its
ambition,
notably
by
fulfilling
the
promise
of
our
dual
protagonist
adventure,
with
Naoe
and
Yasuke
bringing
two
very
different
gameplay
styles.”
They
will
also
seemingly
be
ditching
the
existing
season
pass
model,
with
Shadows
poised
to
have
no
season
pass
at
all.
At
least,
that
appears
to
be
what
the
company
is
saying
as
the
wording
is
rather
vague:
“We
are
departing
from
the
traditional
Season
Pass
model.
All
players
will
be
able
to
enjoy
the
game
at
the
same
time
on
February
14
and
those
who
preorder
the
game
will
be
granted
the
first
expansion
for
free.”
Shadows
has
seen
a
number
of
controversies
since
it
was
launched,
with
the
first
being
the
inclusion
of
real-life
historical
figure
Yasuke,
the
first
ever
recorded
black
person
in
Japan.
In
Ubisoft’s
game,
he’s
a
Samurai,
which
sparked
heated
debates
as
in
historical
terms
Yasuke
was
never
referred
to
as
such.
Several
other
controversies
have
popped
up
surrounding
the
game
and
its
depiction
of
Japanese
culture.
Yves
Guillemot,
the
head
honcho
of
Ubisoft,
seemingly
addressed
this
today
with
a
statement:
“Finally,
let
me
address
some
of
the
polarised
comments
around
Ubisoft
lately.
I
want
to
reaffirm
that
we
are
an
entertainment-first
company,
creating
games
for
the
broadest
possible
audience,
and
our
goal
is
not
to
push
any
specific
agenda.
We
remain
committed
to
creating
games
for
fans
and
players
that
everyone
can
enjoy.”
As
part
of
the
delay,
Ubisoft
announced
that
all
pre-orders
will
be
refunded,
and
anyone
who
did
pre-order
will
now
get
the
game’s
first
expansion
for
free.
On
top
of
delaying
Assassin’s
Creed:
Shadows,
Ubisoft
has
announced
that
all
of
its
games
will
now
be
launching
onto
Steam
from
day
1.
This
will
take
effect
in
February
when
Shadows
launches.
Ubisoft
hasn’t
released
a
game
straight
onto
Steam
since
2019.
Instead,
the
French
publisher
focused
on
launching
its
titles
onto
its
own
Uplay
storefront
and
onto
the
Epic
Games
Store.
It
altered
this
strategy
in
2022
when
Assassin’s
Creed:
Valhalla
came
to
Steam
two
years
after
its
release,
followed
by
Anno
1800.
Ubisoft
must
have
been
happy
with
the
results
as
it
began
to
release
the
rest
of
its
titles
onto
Steam
as
well,
but
only
a
few
months
after
they
came
out
on
Uplay
and
Epic.
Finally,
in
the
same
financial
statement
which
revealed
the
delay
of
Shadows
and
lacklustre
sales
performance
of
Star
Wars:
Outlaws,
it
was
revealed
that
Ubisoft’s
Executive
Committee
and
Board
of
Directors
will
launch
an
investigation
and
review
of
the
company.
“In
the
light
of
recent
challenges,
we
acknowledge
the
need
for
greater
efficiency
while
delighting
players.
As
a
result,
beyond
the
first
important
short-term
actions
undertaken,
the
Executive
Committee,
under
the
supervision
of
the
Board
of
Directors,
is
launching
a
review
aimed
at
further
improving
our
execution,
notably
in
this
player-centric
approach,
and
accelerating
our
strategic
path
towards
a
higher
performing
model
to
the
benefit
of
our
stakeholders
and
shareholders.”
Despite
its
various
announcements
today
though,
Ubisoft
is
trying
to
keep
focuses
on
open-world
games
and
games-as-a-service.
“Although
the
tangible
benefits
of
the
Company’s
transformation
are
taking
longer
than
anticipated
to
materialize,
we
keep
on
our
strategy,
focusing
on
two
key
verticals
–
Open
World
Adventures
and
GaaS-native
experiences
–
with
the
objective
to
drive
growth,
recurrence
and
robust
free
cash
flow
generation
in
our
business.”
said
Ubisoft.
I
wonder
if
the
company’s
intense
focus
on
producing
open-world
games
using
the
same
basic
template
and
its
chasing
of
GaaS
cash
aren’t
the
very
things
that
have
landed
it
in
this
position,
though.
