On February 24, we reported that Assassin’s Creed Shadows had leaked online, with numerous individuals streaming the game a full month before its scheduled release on March 20. Over the weekend, as noted by the GamingLeaksandRumours subreddit, now-deleted social media posts revealed that physical copies of the game were being sold prematurely, and several streams of the unreleased title surfaced on platforms such as Twitch.
In response to these leaks, Ubisoft, the game's developer and publisher, has issued a statement on the Assassin's Creed subreddit. They acknowledged that some players had gained early access to Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Ubisoft emphasized that the development team is still refining the game with patches to ensure the best possible experience at launch. They stressed that any footage circulating online does not reflect the game's final quality.
"Leaks are unfortunate and can diminish the excitement for players," Ubisoft stated. They urged the community to refrain from spoiling the experience for others and expressed gratitude to fans who have already taken measures to prevent 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 another setback for Ubisoft and the Assassin's Creed franchise. 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.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows was originally slated for a November release, but Ubisoft postponed it first to February 14 and then to the current release date of March 20. Amidst struggling sales of other recent releases and an investor backlash, Ubisoft is counting on Assassin’s Creed Shadows to deliver strong performance.
