On February 24th, news broke of a significant leak: Assassin's Creed Shadows appeared online, with numerous individuals streaming gameplay a month before its official March 20th release.
Over the weekend, as reported by the GamingLeaksandRumours subreddit, deleted social media posts revealed physical copies being sold early, alongside multiple unauthorized streams on platforms like Twitch.
Ubisoft, the developer and publisher, acknowledged the leak on the Assassin's Creed subreddit, urging players to avoid spoiling the game for others. They stated that the development team is still working on 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 efforts to prevent spoilers. They concluded by requesting players to avoid spoilers and look forward to the official release on March 20th.
This leak adds to Ubisoft's recent challenges. The team previously apologized for unauthorized use of a historical recreation group's flag and for historical inaccuracies in the game's depiction of Japan. Assassin's Creed Shadows' release date has already been pushed back from November to February 14th, and finally to March 20th. The game's success is crucial for Ubisoft, following disappointing sales of recent titles and negative investor reaction.
