Tag: Assassin's Creed: Shadowbringers

Ubisoft has announced that Assassin's Creed: Shadows will be released on December 2nd for the Nintendo Switch 2. This version has been optimized for all gameplay modes, allowing players to smoothly experience an assassin's journey in feudal Japan, whether on a large TV screen at home or in portable mode on the go. A gaming experience designed specifically for Nintendo Switch 2. The Nintendo Switch 2 version will bring unique features: • Full support for touchscreen controls, making menu, map, and hideout operations more intuitive. • Includes all content updates since the game's launch day. • Supports cross-platform progress sharing via Ubisoft Connect. • Only the "Awaji Claw" expansion will be released early next year. A feudal Japanese epic with two protagonists intertwined. Game director Charles Benoit said: "Nintendo Switch 2 allows players to embark on a journey in their own home or anywhere, roaming the rooftops and streets of feudal Japan, becoming Naoe sneaking in the shadows, or playing as Yasuke to confront enemies head-on." Assassin's Creed: Shadows is built with an enhanced Anvil engine, allowing players to: • Seamlessly switch between the two protagonists, the ninja assassin Naoe and the samurai Yasuke. • Experience distinctly different combat styles and abilities. • Explore the politically turbulent world of feudal Japan...

Ubisoft announced today (May 28th) a collaboration with Behaviour Interactive, allowing players to experience the thrilling world of *Dead by Daylight* through a deadly mission in *Assassin's Creed: Shadows*, starting immediately. This new mission, titled "Dead by Daylight," depicts Naoe's growing suspicion about a sinister force attacking the residents of Harima as villagers mysteriously disappear. Players who unlock Yasuke will be able to accept a free mission to uncover the chilling truth behind it. Players must familiarize themselves with the unique mechanics of this mission and confront a powerful threat from another world to succeed. Completing the event will reward players with exclusive prizes, including a *Dead by Daylight* themed bundle featuring new outfits, weapons, and accessories, and a chance to ride the legendary loyal mount, Maurice, through the shadows.

Ubisoft recently announced that Assassin's Creed: Shadows, which had been delayed until March 20th, is now available for pre-order, along with a new trailer. Developed by Ubisoft's Quebec studio, Assassin's Creed: Shadows transports players to 16th-century Japan, where they will experience the complex story between Naoe, a skilled Iga assassin, and Yasuke, a powerful samurai from historical legend. Players will explore their individual backstories, encounter key historical figures, and forge their shared destiny amidst the brutal process of Japan's unification. The newly released story trailer offers a glimpse into this gripping tale, revealing a turbulent land torn apart by war and threatened by external forces. In this chaos, the ruthless ambition of the daimyo Oda Nobunaga will shape the fates of the two protagonists who will shape the birth of a new doctrine in Japan. The game will launch globally on March 20th and will be available on Ubisoft+, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Amazon Luna, Macs with Apple chips (downloadable via the Mac App Store), and Windows PC. Additionally, the standard edition, digital deluxe edition, and collector's edition of Assassin's Creed: Shadows will all be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Mac. Both the Digital Deluxe Edition and the Collector's Edition include exclusive content and are available for pre-order starting today. The Digital Deluxe Edition will additionally include the "Red Dragon Double Pack" containing equipment and weapons for Naoe and Yasuke, as well as the "Red Dragon Hideout Pack" containing hideout appearances and "Mastery Points". The Collector's Edition, in addition to the Digital Deluxe Edition, includes physical content such as a Steelbook case, a world map, Naoe and Yasuke figurines, a life-size Naoe samurai sword guard, a wall hanging dogma scroll, a 76-page collector's art book, and two ink paintings. Players who pre-order any version of Assassin's Creed: Shadows will receive the "Awaji Claws" expansion, expected to launch later this year, for free. This expansion will bring a brand-new open-world area, over 10 hours of additional content, new skills, new equipment, new abilities, and Naoe's new weapon, the "Staff," taking players to the mysterious Awaji Island, where Naoe and Yasuke will be relentlessly pursued by the dangerous new force threatening the region, the "Mountain Bandits."

Ubisoft, which cancelled its Tokyo Game Show appearance last year and announced a delayed release of Assassin's Creed: Shadows (originally scheduled for November 15th), has now announced another delay to March 20th, emphasizing that it's to gather more player feedback to improve the game experience. The earlier cancellation of the Tokyo Game Show appearance was partly attributed to Sucker Punch's announcement of the Ghost of Tsushima sequel, Ghost of the Goat's Hoof. The recent delay is seen as a way to avoid clashing with Monster Hunter Wilds' expected February 28th release date. Ubisoft is currently facing several challenges. For example, the highly anticipated Star Wars: Outlaws, released at the end of August, has only sold approximately 1 million copies worldwide. Pre-orders for Assassin's Creed: Shadows are even lower than those for the previously released Assassin's Creed: Viking Age, and the game itself has been criticized by many Japanese players for its subject matter. When Ubisoft previously announced the delay of Assassin's Creed: Shadows, they stated they would refund existing pre-orders and then provide the first wave of expansion packs free of charge to subsequent pre-orders. However, with this latest announcement of a further delay, Ubisoft seems to have made no further mention of any additional compensation measures.

Due to the recent lackluster sales performance of several games, coupled with the earlier confirmation that the release of *Assassin's Creed: Shadows*, originally scheduled for November 15th of this year, will be delayed until February 2025, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot stated that the company will conduct an internal review and propose further improvements. Meanwhile, dissatisfied with the continued decline in Ubisoft's stock price, AJ Investments, which holds less than 1% of Ubisoft's shares, has joined forces with other investors and claims to have secured the support of 10% of investors. They are urging Ubisoft to sell the company at a fair price to a third-party game developer or to be acquired by a private equity firm. In its demands, AJ Investments has even called for the replacement of Ubisoft's management team, including the president, and proposed selling the company to Tencent Games, a major Chinese game developer, to secure better market opportunities and leverage Tencent Games' resources to create more profitable game titles. Ubisoft is currently facing many difficulties. For example, the previously highly anticipated Star Wars: Outlaws, released at the end of August this year, has only sold about 1 million copies worldwide. The pre-orders for Assassin's Creed: Shadows are even lower than those for the previously released Assassin's Creed: Viking Age. At the same time, the game itself has been criticized by many Japanese players due to its theme and setting. There were even earlier reports that the release was delayed, possibly due to the sequel to Ghost of Tsushima, Ghost of the Sheep's Hoof.

Ubisoft recently confirmed the cancellation of its Tokyo Game Show appearance and announced that the release of *Assassin's Creed: Shadows*, originally scheduled for November 15th, will be delayed until February 14th, 2025, for Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms. Ubisoft stated that the delay is to allow more time to refine the content and enhance the gameplay experience, aiming for the best possible experience. Along with the announcement, Ubisoft also stated that it will refund pre-orders and provide a free first-wave expansion pack to those who subsequently pre-order. However, some believe that the cancellation of the Tokyo Game Show appearance is related to Sucker Punch's earlier announcement of *Ghost of Tsushima* sequel *Ghost of the Sheep's Hoof*, as both games are set in Japan and have similar gameplay, leading Ubisoft to avoid direct competition.

In a recent interview, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot confirmed that the company is working on a remake of the Assassin's Creed series, reinterpreting the still-engaging storylines of older titles with modern technology. While Assassin's Creed: Shadows, set in the late Sengoku period and controversial for its portrayal of Yasuke (a Black character), is set to release on November 15th, Guillemot also revealed plans to release Assassin's Creed titles more frequently, including reinterpretations with different gameplay experiences. While Guillemot didn't reveal specific details about the upcoming Assassin's Creed remake, he anticipates it will be redesigned using modern gameplay technology, allowing players to experience the series' story in a fresh light. Previous reports have suggested that Ubisoft will be reviving Assassin's Creed: Black Flag, originally released in 2013. It now appears that they are expanding the series' content through an "Assassin's Creed universe," offering suitable gameplay across different platforms to attract more players. Furthermore, Ubisoft plans to launch a service platform called "Animus hub," allowing players to launch and play Assassin's Creed: Shadows on launch day. This platform will also integrate more Assassin's Creed games in the future.

At Ubisoft Forward 2024, Ubisoft showcased a 13-minute gameplay video of Assassin's Creed: Shadows, a teaser trailer for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remastered, and updates for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Prince of Persia: The Reborn. They also released approximately 10 minutes of gameplay footage for Star Wars: Outlaws. Furthermore, during their appearance at Apple's WWDC 2024, Ubisoft announced that games including Assassin's Creed: Shadows will be available on Mac and iPad, aiming to expand their player base through the Apple platform. In this update, Ubisoft also announced the Avatar: Pandora Frontiers Breakers Story Pack, scheduled for release in mid-July. They also confirmed that the new Just Dance game, Just Dance VR: Welcome to Just Dance City, will launch on October 15th this year, compatible with Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3, and Meta Quest Pro. Furthermore, they plan to release a new generation digital version of the classic board game Monopoly in September, and a new city-building game, Brave New World 117: Rome, in 2025. Other updates include a second year of content for *The Crew: Power Celebration*, the first season of the free-to-play fast-paced arcade shooter *XDefiant* launching on July 2nd, and *For Honor*'s Year 8 Season 2 "Muramasa" scheduled for release on June 13th. *Season of the Storm* announced its second and third seasons, along with a 5v5 PVP mode. Other updates include: • 13-minute gameplay video for *Assassin's Creed: Shadows*; • *Prince of Persia* series updates; • 10-minute gameplay video for *Star Wars: Outlaws*; • *Avatar: Pandora's Frontier* Skybreaker Story Pack; • *Just Dance VR: Welcome to Just Dance City*; • *MONOPOLY...

Earlier, when announcing its full-year financial results for fiscal year 2023, Ubisoft confirmed the cancellation of *The Division: Battlefield*, a free-to-play multiplayer survival action shooter announced in 2021, to focus development resources on game content with greater growth potential. Ubisoft stated that this was a difficult decision, but considering future profit opportunities, it decided to terminate further development of *The Division: Battlefield* and reassign the Red Storm Entertainment team members who supported its development to new projects including *X-Defiant* and a new *Rainbow Six* title. Prior to this, Ubisoft had also cancelled projects such as *Project Q* and *Fenix ​​Saga 2*, as well as several unannounced game projects, based on profit potential considerations. According to Ubisoft's fiscal year 2023 financial report, revenue reached €3.13 million, with game pre-orders growing by 33.5%. The company emphasized that sales of *Rainbow Six Siege* and the *Assassin's Creed* series were the main drivers of revenue growth, reversing a €500 million loss from the previous year and achieving a record annual revenue. However, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot stated that due to ongoing market changes, the company has implemented several operational improvements, reducing its workforce by over 1700 employees in the past year and a half. Combined with a readjustment of game development strategies, this resulted in a reduction in annual operating costs to €16 billion, an additional €150 million decrease compared to the previous year. Guillemot stressed that the focus for fiscal year 2024 will be on new game releases, including *Star Wars: Outlaws*, *Bad Frontier*, and the previously announced *Assassin's Creed: Shadows*.

Ubisoft has announced that Assassin's Creed: Shadows will officially launch on November 15th this year, and is expected to be released on Ubisoft+, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Amazon Luna, Macs powered by Apple Silicon processors, and Windows PCs. Players who subscribe to Ubisoft+ or purchase the Ultimate Edition will be able to play the game three days early on November 12th. The Windows PC version will be available through the Ubisoft Store or Epic Games Store, while the Mac version will be available through the Mac App Store. Developed by Ubisoft Quebec, the studio behind Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Assassin's Creed: Shadows will take players back to 16th-century Japan. At that time, Japan was on a brutal path to unification, and the emergence of new alliances and the intervention of hostile foreign powers exacerbated social unrest. Players will experience the intricate story between Naoe, a skilled Iga assassin, and Yasuke, a powerful samurai from historical legend. They will explore their personal histories, meet key historical figures, and shape their shared destiny as they usher in a new era for Japan. Players can choose to play as either Naoe or Yasuke, mastering two complementary playstyles. Each character has their own progression path, skills, weapon options, and attributes. Whether utilizing Naoe's stealth abilities or Yasuke's combat prowess, players have numerous ways to achieve their objectives. Playing as Naoe allows for a more sophisticated stealth experience, utilizing light, noise, shadow, and the ever-changing environment to avoid detection, while playing as Yasuke enables ruthless precision against larger groups of enemies. Furthermore, players will explore a vast open world and experience diverse landscapes that change with the weather and seasons. The latest version of the Anvil engine, combined with the powerful performance of next-generation home consoles, will recreate magnificent castle towns, bustling ports, and tranquil shrines and pastoral landscapes, bringing feudal Japan vividly to life for players. Players will build their own spy networks, uncover new areas, and hunt down targets, while also recruiting highly skilled and capable allies to assist them in missions. Players can also create customizable hideouts, from base layout to various decorations and accessories, to build a unique home. The standard edition of Assassin's Creed: Shadows is priced at NT$2090, while the PC and Apple Silicon-compatible Mac models are priced at NT$1990. Furthermore, players who pre-order Assassin's Creed: Shadows will receive an additional mission. The following information has been released regarding the Assassin's Creed: Shadows Gold, Ultimate, and Collector's Editions: • The Gold Edition will include the main game, the Season Pass (which includes an extra mission with unlockable additional content and two upcoming expansions), and 3-day early access. • The Ultimate Edition will include the main game, the Season Pass, the Ultimate Bundle, and 3-day early access. The Ultimate Bundle will include the Red Dragon Character Bundle (clothing and weapons, accessories, and mounts for Naoe and Yasuke), the Red Dragon Hideout Bundle, 5 skill points, and a Red and Black Photo Mode filter. • ...