Ubisoft Dev Confirms High Stakes For ‘Assassin’s Creed Shadows’: “If The Game Performs Moderately We’re Really In Trouble”
In an admission that will come as little surprise to the larger player population, a member of the Assassin’s Creed Shadows dev team has confirmed that the upcoming franchise entry is shaping up to be a ‘make or break’ moment for Ubisoft as a whole.
This insight into the French developer’s shaky-standing was provided to the public courtesy of a March 16th report from BFM Tech & Co. reporter Melinda Davan-Soulas.
Speaking to a number of Shadows devs ahead of the upcoming 2025 Game Developers Conference, Davan-Soulas was told by one anonymous team member that they were aware just how much was riding on the game’s success, and thus had used the extra time afforded to them by the game’s second delay to really try and hammer out its issues.
“If the game performs moderately, we’re really in trouble,” said the dev. “If Shadows sells very well, we’ll be able to start breathing a sigh of relief.”
Another noted, “The teams crunched like never before to finish it. They really needed that extra month.”
“There are seniors who worked every day to complete it,” they added, “it was pretty crazy.”
However, far from being a guaranteed ‘playing music as the Titanic’ sinks moment for Ubisoft, a further team member informed Davan-Soulas that they were actually optimistic about Shadows‘ potential for success, as though its pre-order numbers were not near the level of the franchise’s top earner Valhalla, but they were on par with those of the runner-up Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.
“Already, if it sells like Odyssey, which is the 2nd best-selling game of all time, we’ll be happy,” said the insider.
As noted above, the apparent fact that Shadows‘ performance holds particularly high stakes for Ubisoft’s future is not shocking in the least given their recent stumbles.
From the flopping of numerous big-budget releases like Star Wars Outlaws and Skull & Bones, to the shuttering of the live-service XDefiant, to multiple rounds of layoffs, to the slow decline of the Assassin’s Creed franchise in general – and that’s to say nothing of the ongoing Shadows debacle – Ubisoft’s last few years have been an absolute master class in not only how ‘not to run a video game studio’, but how ‘not to run a business’ in general.
In fact, things have gotten so bad for the once-esteemed developer that its investors are in open revolt against leadership, with one minority investor even threatening to stage a physical protest outside of Ubisoft’s headquarters unless a serious plan of action is provided.
Meanwhile, Ubisoft’s founders, the Guillemot Brothers, are reportedly exploring the option of selling the company off to a completely separate entity (possibly Tencent, who already have own a minority stake in their operations).
All in all, one thing is absolutely clear: Ubisoft needs Assassin’s Creed Shadows to do exceptionally well when it hits shelves on March 20th, as any other result will likely mark the beginning of their end.
NEXT: ‘Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Creative Director Says Ubisoft Devs Are “Trying To Listen To Japanese Fans”, Assures They’re Open To “Good And Warranted Criticism”
More About:Video Game News