Assassin’s Creed Shadows delayed after ‘soft’ reception of Star Wars Outlaws, says Ubisoft
Assassin’s Creed Shadows would be previewed by the media soon, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said during a conference call, but the company wants to make sure the game lives up to its ambitions. (Those previews have since been canceled.) The “lessons” that Star Wars Bandits “has prompted (Ubisoft) to provide additional time to further polish the title,” the press release said. Assassin’s Creed Shadows will now be released on February 14th on all platforms, including Steam.Star Wars Bandits (has yet to be released on Steam, but is scheduled for November 21st.)
“This allows the biggest game in the franchise to fully realize its ambitions, especially by delivering on the promise of our dual-protagonist adventure, with Naoe and Yasuke bringing two very different playstyles,” Ubisoft said in a press release.
Both Assassin’s Creed Shadows And Star Wars Bandits have been the target of a culture war over character designs: Star Wars Bandits for the appearance of Kay Vess, and Assassin’s Creed Shadows for “concerns” about historical accuracy with its black samurai Yasuke. Guillemont referred to these as “polarizing comments” and noted that Ubisoft’s goal is “not to push a specific agenda.” During the conference call, Guillemont said that a “perception issue (…) has impacted the company’s performance.”
His full statement, via press release, reads as follows:
Finally, I want to address some of the polarizing comments about Ubisoft lately. I want to reiterate that we are an entertainment-first company, making games for the broadest possible audience, and that we are not in the business of pushing any specific agenda. We remain committed to making games for fans and players that everyone can enjoy.
In July, Star Wars Bandits Creative director Julian Gerighty told The Washington Post that this discourse is ‘not worth engaging with’.” He continued: “When you deal with people in bad faith, there’s no nuance and no opportunity for real dialogue. So all we can do is make the best game we can.”