On February 24th, news broke of an Assassin's Creed Shadows leak, with numerous individuals streaming the game online a month before its official March 20th release. The weekend saw further evidence of the leak, as reported by the GamingLeaksandRumours subreddit, with deleted social media posts showcasing pre-release physical copies and multiple Twitch streams showcasing the unreleased gameplay.
Ubisoft, the developer and publisher, acknowledged the leak on the Assassin's Creed subreddit, urging players to refrain from spoiling the game for others. They stated that the development team is working on pre-launch patches, and that leaked footage doesn't reflect the final game quality. Ubisoft emphasized the negative impact of leaks on player excitement and thanked the community for its efforts in mitigating spoilers. They concluded with a plea to avoid spoilers and promised more official announcements in the coming weeks, leading up to the March 20th release.
This leak adds to Ubisoft's recent challenges with the Assassin's Creed franchise. The team previously apologized for unauthorized use of a historical recreation group's flag and for historical inaccuracies in Assassin's Creed Shadows' depiction of Japan. The game's release date has already been pushed back from November to February 14th, and finally to March 20th. With recent lackluster sales and investor backlash, Ubisoft desperately needs Assassin's Creed Shadows to succeed.
