Assassin's Creed Shadows is delayed out of 2024 — here's the new release date

What you need to know

• Assassin's Creed Shadows was slated to arrive on Nov. 15, 2024. 
• Ubisoft is delaying the game out of the year to polish the experience. 
• All new preorders of the game will be granted the first expansion for free, and Assassin's Creed Shadows will now launch on Steam day one. 
• Assassin's Creed Shadows is now scheduled to arrive on Feb. 14, 2025. 

Ubisoft's next big game is getting pushed out the year. 

The company shared on Wednesday that Assassin's Creed Shadows is now launching on Feb. 14, 2025, being pushed out of its original November 2024 release date.

"This is an ambitious addition to the franchise, a rich experience that can be lived through the eyes of two unique protagonists - but we realize we need more time to polish and refine the experience, pushing further some of our key features," Ubisoft's statement reads. 

Assassin's Creed Shadows was slated to arrive across Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC via Uplay, PlayStation 5, Mac, and Amazon Luna, but is also now coming to Steam on day one.  All current preorders are being refunded soon, and any new preorders for Assassin's Creed Shadows will now get the game's first expansion for free, while Ubisoft is "departing" from the early access season pass model for this game, meaning season pass owners won't get three-day early access to the game.

This delay also comes on the back of Ubisoft's recent launch for Star Wars Outlaws, a launch that Ubisoft states was "softer than expected," adding that Star Wars Outlaws will be coming to Steam on Nov. 21, 2024.

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Two open-world Japanese adventures in the same year

This delay means Assassin's Creed Shadows is now launching in the same year as another big open-world adventure set in Japan.

PlayStation Studios and Sucker Punch Productions' Ghost of Yōtei, a sequel to Ghost of Tsushima, is slated to launch on PlayStation 5 at some point in 2025. Introducing a new protagonist named Atsu who takes up the mantle and mask of the legendary ghost Jin Sakai, little else is known at this time. 

While it's likely that the games will be separated by at least a few months, the timing is certainly noteworthy, especially given how long game development takes for blockbuster titles.