Yesterday, February 24, we reported that Assassin’s Creed Shadows had been leaked online, with numerous people streaming the game a full month before its official release date on March 20. Over the weekend, as observed by the GamingLeaksandRumours subreddit, now-deleted social media posts revealed that physical copies of the game were being sold prematurely. Additionally, multiple streams of the unreleased game surfaced on platforms like Twitch.
In response to these leaks, Ubisoft, the developer and publisher behind the game, has issued a statement on the Assassin's Creed subreddit. They confirmed their awareness of the situation and urged players to refrain from spoiling the experience for others. "We are aware players have accessed Assassin’s Creed Shadows ahead of its official release. The development team is still working on patches to prepare the experience for launch, and any footage shared online does not represent the final quality of the game," Ubisoft stated.
They further noted, "Leaks are unfortunate and can diminish the excitement for players. We kindly ask you not to spoil the experience for others. Thank you to our community for already taking steps to protect everyone from spoilers. Stay in the shadows, avoid the spoilers, and keep an eye on our channel for more official surprises in the coming weeks! March 20 will be here soon!"
These leaks represent yet another setback for Ubisoft and its flagship Assassin's Creed series. The development team has previously had to apologize for using a historical recreation group's flag without permission and for inaccuracies in Assassin's Creed Shadows' depictions of Japan.
Originally slated for a November release, Assassin’s Creed Shadows was first delayed to February 14 and then further postponed to the current release date of March 20. With struggling Ubisoft needing the game to perform well amidst disappointing sales of recent releases and investor backlash, the stakes are high for this latest installment in the iconic franchise.
