On February 24th, news broke of a significant leak: Assassin's Creed Shadows appeared online, with numerous individuals streaming gameplay a month before its official March 20th release. The weekend saw further evidence of the leak, as reported by the GamingLeaksandRumours subreddit. Deleted social media posts revealed physical copies being sold early, alongside multiple streams on platforms like Twitch.
Ubisoft, the developer and publisher, acknowledged the leak on the Assassin's Creed subreddit, urging players to avoid spoiling the game for others. They stated that the development team is still working on pre-launch patches, and that currently available online footage doesn't reflect the game's final quality. The company emphasized the negative impact of leaks on player anticipation and thanked the community for its efforts in preventing spoilers. They concluded with a plea to avoid spoilers and a reminder of the upcoming March 20th release date.
This leak adds to Ubisoft's recent challenges with Assassin's Creed Shadows. The team previously apologized for unauthorized use of a historical recreation group's flag and for historical inaccuracies in the game's depiction of Japan. The game's release date has also been shifted multiple times, originally slated for November, then February 14th, and finally settling on March 20th. Given Ubisoft's recent struggles with sales of other titles and investor concerns, the success of Assassin's Creed Shadows is crucial.
