Ubisoft Addresses Assassin's Creed Shadows Leak

On February 24, we reported that Assassin’s Creed Shadows had leaked online, with numerous individuals streaming the game a full month before its official release date set for March 20. Over the weekend, as highlighted 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 game surfaced on platforms such as Twitch.

In response to the leak, Ubisoft, the game's developer and publisher, has issued a statement on the Assassin's Creed subreddit. They acknowledged that some players had accessed Assassin’s Creed Shadows prior to its official release and emphasized that the development team is still refining the game with patches ahead of the launch. Ubisoft stressed that any circulating footage does not reflect the final quality of the game.

"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 are already taking measures to prevent spoilers from spreading. Ubisoft concluded their message with an encouraging note: "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!"

The leaks represent another setback for Ubisoft and the Assassin's Creed franchise. The development team has previously had to issue apologies 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 was postponed to February 14, and then further delayed to its current release date of March 20. Given Ubisoft's recent struggles with lackluster sales of other titles and investor backlash, the company is counting on Assassin’s Creed Shadows to perform well.