Everything that happened up until Assassin's Creed Shadows' delay

Today is the day that we all expected to be beginning our journey in Feudal Japan in Assassin's Creed Shadows. The ambitious project was scheduled for a launch on November 15, 2024, but after a whole range of issues and backlash it was delayed and pushed all the way until February 2025. Granted, that's not a huge delay in the grand scheme of things but as Shadows would have been one of the last major launches of 2024, we're turning our attention back to the maligned title to remind you what happened and why the game had to be pushed. Let's begin at the start.

September 2022

After a variety of rumours, Ubisoft finally lifted the curtain during one of its Forwards and presented Codename Red. This working titled project was finally taking Assassin's Creed to Japan, and this pretty much instantly kicked off a massive fan following for those that were finally seeing their Assassin's Creed dreams come true. At this point, no release date was mentioned other than that it would probably be making its debut sometime after 2023.

July 2023

A rumour started swirling that Codename Red was gearing up for a 2024 release, all thanks to a muffed LinkedIn post by Ubisoft that was quickly rectified. Yet, despite almost a year passing since the official announcement, nothing more has been revealed.

January 2024

Another rumour does the rounds that Codename Red would get its proper unveiling in May and that we'd be playing the title too as soon as November.

February 2024

Ubisoft all but affirms these plans by mentioning in its financial reports that Codename Red was planned for the 2024 fiscal year, i.e. between April 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025. Technically, that still holds true today.

May 2024

Ubisoft announces the official name of Codename Red, revealing that it will be dubbed Assassin's Creed Shadows and that we'd know more about the game this month before a wider scale gameplay presentation at the Ubisoft Forward in June. There is still no confirmation on the release date.

The complete reveal then happens around a week later wherein we receive a cinematic trailer presenting the dual-protagonists of Naoe and Yasuke. We learn that the release date is November 15, and also begin to see some backlash due to particularly Japanese fans discontent at the way Feudal Japan is represented. As this is a cinematic trailer, many shrug these issues off and instead wait for the major gameplay reveal in June.

It's also in this month that we first get our taste of the Collector's Edition that promises various physical goodies as well as three days of Early Access in November and the inclusion of the Season Pass too.

June 2024

We get to see a big chunk of Shadows gameplay in action and with it learn more about the sometimes misrepresented Japan. We get to see how Naoe and Yasuke differ in action and also we get the chance to speak with the developers and see some behind closed doors gameplay that is very similar to the official walkthrough presented at the Ubisoft Forward.

This gameplay is where the issues really start to rise as the Japanese fanbase become enraged at the authenticity of the country in the game, something that soon amounts to major backlash becoming public in the following month.

July 2024

The most significant backlash comes in the form of a petition signed by thousands of Japanese fans who are campaigning for Shadows to be cancelled. They claim the game is a "serious insult to Japanese culture and history," all while adding that "Ubisoft continues to misunderstand the nature and role of samurai."

The petition wants the game shut down immediately, and this isn't even swayed by some historians coming out and sharing their take on the matter and how Japanese history has blank spots that could suggest some parts of Yasuke's life would slot into Ubisoft's adaptation.

This leads to Ubisoft issuing an apology wherein they affirm that Assassin's Creed games are not historically accurate and that they "aim to spark curiosity and encourage players to explore and learn more about the historical settings we get inspired by." Ubisoft also adds that its team "extensively collaborated with external consultants, historians, researchers, and internal teams at Ubisoft Japan to inform our creative choices," but that this has led to "some elements in our promotional materials" causing concern among the community.

The French company claims that it will continue to consult and collaborate to address the criticism the game has faced, but also doesn't make any plan to delay the game nor change how Yasuke is implemented in the way so many Japanese fans demand.

August 2024

More gameplay is presented in line with Gamescom. The footage shows off more of Japan and the actions and skills that Yasuke and Naoe can perform in-game. While criticism is less vocal than during the earlier stages of the summer, there is still noise in the community expressing their discontent with the game, something that no doubt leads to the next major development in September.

September 2024

Ubisoft has plans for Tokyo Game Show. With a major game based in Japan, the French company is preparing to host a show at the trade fair, but it pulls out at the last minute without any warning or significant explanation. Fans and press start to question why and soon after planned press preview events are also cancelled, clearly showing that Ubisoft is about to make a big change in its 2024 release calendar.

It doesn't take long around this period until the announcement is official and that Assassin's Creed Shadows has been pushed from November 15, 2024 until February 14, 2025. Ubisoft notes that it needs more time to polish and refine the experience, and that the delay will mean that pre-orders will be refunded and that pre-orderers will get the first expansion free of charge too.

October 2024

A report starts doing the rounds delving into the issues behind Shadows and its delay. It notes that any rumours about wild gameplay choices and changes around this period are pretty much false and that the delay happened for the same reason that most delays happen: a too tight development timeline, necessity for polishing, and also in an attempt to address the Japanese community's frustrations. The report notes that Yasuke will still be a major part of the game, and that simply put, Shadows was not in a place where it was ready to be put in the hands of fans from November.

Ubisoft also uses this delay news to remove a collectible figure that depicted both Yasuke and Naoe in a chibi style on a broken Torii gate. The collectible was deemed culturally "insensitive" and was therefore pulled from sale.

Lastly, Ubisoft decides that the issues and the delay require some good favour handing back to fans and thus the big Collector's Edition of the game gets its price tag decreased, mostly due to the Season Pass no longer being included since many will get the first expansion for free anyhow for simply pre-ordering the game.

This basically wraps up the Assassin's Creed Shadows controversy up until November 15, its originally planned release date. Well... beside the fact that Ubisoft seems to want to put an Assassin's Creed game into the hands of fans every six months...