Assassin’s Creed Shadows might be the most important game in Ubisoft history, and fans now know when the review embargo will lift.
Ubisoft is in an awkward position. Multiple attempted AAAA, industry-shaking games have fizzled commercially and underwhelmed critically. Star Wars Outlaws and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora failed to reach the sales expectations Ubisoft was hoping for. Games like Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown reviewed well but, again, didn’t sell as well as the company targeted.
This, combined with the cancelations of Tom Clancy’s The Division: Heartland and XDefiant’s post-release content, has put Ubisoft in an awkward position. The publisher may be sold, or may undergo significant restructuring, with another stumble. That makes Assassin’s Creed Shadows a potential do-or-die affair for Ubisoft.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows review embargo date revealed
The Assassin’s Creed Shadows review embargo will be lifted on March 18, 2025. This comes from a Ubisoft earnings call regarding the publisher’s upcoming plans.
The March 18 embargo date is notable for a few reasons.
First and foremost, this reaffirms that Ubisoft is still committed to the March 20, 2025 release date. The publisher made the surprise decision in 2024 to push the game’s launch back to 2025. This bucked the series’ tradition of dropping a new game each year, typically in November. It took some time for the March 20 release date to be confirmed and despite some fan concerns regarding another delay, this is still the plan.
Secondly, this speaks to a certain level of confidence regarding the game’s quality.
There have been major releases such as Sonic Boom where review copies were not sent to gaming media. The two-day window between the review embargo lifting and Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ release is largely standard for the industry. Though Square Enix flaunted its confidence in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth by having the embargo lift weeks before the game’s release date, two days is the norm for major releases.
Ubisoft has confidence regarding Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ sales
As part of Ubisoft’s earnings call, the company spoke positively regarding the response to Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
“Early previews have been positive, praising its narrative and immersive experience, with both characters playing critical roles in the game’s storyline, as well as the quality and complementarity of the gameplay provided by the dual protagonist approach,” a Ubisoft executive said, per Insider Gaming.
The company said that its financial forecast for Assassin’s Creed Shadows was also positive. Per the call, the game is tracking to have pre-order numbers comparable to Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Odyssey was one of the top-selling games of 2018, with only Red Dead Redemption 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 moving more units during the year.
Insider Gaming states that the number of standing pre-orders for Assassin’s Creed Shadows is still short of where Odyssey was at launch. If Assassin’s Creed Shadows is confirmed to be good once its review embargo lifts, this could propel it up to that mark.
Given how much Ubisoft has riding on the game, the company needs all the help it can get.
