UbisoftTroubles continue for Ubisoft as the developer has confirmed that physical copies of Assassin’s Creed Shadows have been shipped out ahead of its official release.
For a long time now, Assassin’s Creed has been the flagship franchise for Ubisoft with the developer reliably publishing a serviceable release every few years. Whether it’s fatigue or the sheer number of competitors that have arisen in the space, pre-release reception to the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been lukewarm compared to other entries in the series.
Missteps in the game’s promotion coupled with a series of delays haven’t done much to alleviate the concerns of prospective players. Now, Ubisoft is fighting another fire ahead of its impending release.
A little over three weeks ahead of the official launch of the game, physical copies of Assassin’s Creed Shadows have found their way into the hands of players. Ubisoft has acknowledged the issue and warned players of spoilers as gameplay footage and impromptu reviews leak online.
Physical copies of Assassin’s Creed Shadows are in the wild
In the last few days, numerous images have cropped up online of players with the game in their hands and TheGamer has even reported people selling copies on platforms like Mercari. Elsewhere, full cutscenes and extended gameplay footage have been posted which we won’t be linking here.
Ubisoft has been diligently working to take these posts down but they’ve become so widespread that anyone hoping to catch a glimpse should have no trouble. The developers themselves have cautioned against that, however.
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“Leaks are unfortunate and can diminish the excitement for players,” Ubisoft said in a public announcement on X. “We kindly ask you not to spoil the experience for others.”
Given the quantity of footage online, it appears leakers have decided to ignore the developer. In light of that, Ubisoft has advised those looking forward to the game to “stay in the shadows, avoid the spoilers, and keep an eye on our channel for more official surprises”.
As a further caveat, the company has also reminded those viewing the leaks that these physical versions of the game have not undergone the resultant fine-tuning of recent delays. “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,” the developer clarified.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows will launch in earnest on March 20, 2025. We’ve been able to play a more refined version of the game which those who previewed it believe has ‘the best stealth in the series’. Those who haven’t received an early copy won’t have long to wait before they can try it out.