Introduction: Ubisoft has seen a lot of turbulence and problems in its business model over the past couple of years. Now, the company finally released the latest addition to one of the biggest franchises that it owns, which is Assassin’s Creed. The new game, named Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, has entered the market after a prolonged development time and several delays. Because of that, its development company is hoping that the wait will be worth it for many players, being that Ubisoft needs any good news it can get. At the same time, the potential of the game becoming a failure could jeopardize not just the future of the franchise, but the long-term prospects for Ubisoft itself.
Article: It is not rare to see video games facing a prolonged development period. Even the best plans sometimes make a wrong turn and push the entire development team into a quagmire of problems and delays. The same applies to the biggest video games on the market, where multimillion-dollar AAA projects can run aground and cause massive disruptions. However, when it comes to the latest installment of Assassin’s Creed, a popular third-person action-adventure game from Ubisoft, these problems nearly took on a life of their own. The game, which was in development since 2020, started its life immediately after the release of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Initially, Ubisoft believed that it would be able to launch Assassin’s Creed: Shadows somewhere at the start of fall 2024. However, this did not happen. Instead, the company pushed back its release date several times but moved the game just a month or two into the future every time. That was a strange strategy for the wider gaming public, but Ubisoft was adamant that it was simply ironing out some elements.
The company was steadfast in its statements – the game was good and ready for the market, but the developers wanted to make it even better. That was the only reason given for the delay, but the audience, including long-time fans of the Assassin’s Creed series, began to grow resentful, especially on social media. However, the final deadline of March 20, 2025, was not moved and the game was released on the same date. The early launch period went well and the game got over a million downloads in the first 24 hours on the market. But, the future of the series, just like the future of the entire Ubisoft, still hangs in the balance of the long-term sales of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows and how the company will make its new games.
Feudal Japan
Following the concept of the entire franchise, the latest Assassin’s Creed game is also squarely rooted in real history. It is set in Japan’s feudal period, beginning in 1579, when a civil war raged in the country. Here, the players once again step into the fight between the Temple Order, bent on full control of humanity, and the Brotherhood of the Assassins, determined to fight for liberty. The clash, spanning thousands of years, spills over into feudal Japan and its numerous power struggles of the bloody 16th century. During the game, the storyline moves between two protagonists – Fujibayashi Naoe, who is a female shinobi, and Yasuke, a samurai who was born in Africa. Here, the main focal point of the gameplay lies, as both characters have different traits and approaches to the completion of their missions. Yasuke provides force and strength in his approach, while Naoe is more akin to a traditional ninja warrior. Here, her skills in hiding and parkour allow her to overcome obstacles and wait for the right time to strike at her assassination target.
Stealth Gameplay Focus
Besides a duo of protagonists, the big element of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows is the game’s complex stealth mechanics. Because of the advanced Ubisoft Anvil game engine, the players have access to a range of light and environmental influences. These allow for the manipulation of shadows and dimly lit parts of rooms, hallways, and other spaces that the players can use. Besides those, the game includes many additional mechanics for hiding that are perfectly in line with its Japanese theme. Due to them, players can conceal underwater using a bamboo stick for breathing or hide in a dense bed of flowers, slowly crawling towards their targets. Ubisoft also allows players to play the game in a non-linear manner, tracking and taking out individuals however they see fit.
Assassin’s Creed Franchise
The decision of the developers at Ubisoft to postpone the game until they determined it was ready was clearly a good move. Besides the game’s solid sales in the crucial first post-launch day, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows also managed to win over the gaming critics. The mixture of stealth gameplay and a divergent RPG system blends seamlessly with an interesting setting and a gorgeous environment. On Steam, the game has a Very Positive ranking, with over 80% of nearly 6,500 reviews recommending the game. In the first 48 hours post-release, the Steam player count rose to over two million. Other platforms saw just as much success and crucial acclaim, which is why many gaming news providers already dubbed the game one of the best in the series so far.
Rehauling the Development
Not long ago, it became known that Ubisoft is considering finding a buyer for the entire Assassin’s Creed franchise and allowing the new owners creative control over the subsequent games. The success of the latest game will likely allow Ubisoft some breathing space not just related to this franchise, but its overall corporate problems. However, it is still apparent that the development process for Shadows went sideways at some point. This once more underlines the need for big AAA video game productions to reassess and rehaul their development. It is no longer possible to pump endless amounts of money into huge video games and believe that the brand value will push sales figures as long as it takes to break even. Instead, Ubisoft has to find a way to make the next Assassin’s Creed not just faster and smaller in scope, but also more financially viable. The biggest development and publishing companies no longer have access to big marketing budgets that could promote games over months or years. Because of the video game industry crisis, a new type of economy is arising in this space and companies have to adapt to it. Otherwise, the future of the series, just like Ubisoft itself, will hang on every next big release. Statistically speaking, that will include flops and these might, under the right circumstances, bury the entire business.
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Author: Ivica Milaric, game designer and assistant professor of game design at the Novi Sada Academy of Arts, Republic of Serbia