Without naming names, Ubisoft is pushing back multiple of its planned biggest releases. The news comes from the company’s latest earnings (via Eurogamer), on the back of a successful delay for Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
Ubisoft head honcho, Yves Guillemot, suggested on the earnings call that the delays would be applied to its top five franchises, including Assassin’s Creed, The Division, and Rainbow Six Siege.
It’s perhaps a little unusual to hear that a delay was a positive in a financial report setting, but it seems longer to polish Assassin’s Creed Shadows has ultimately worked out well for the company.
Guillemot also stated:
“After a review of our pipeline, we have decided to provide additional development time to some of our biggest productions in order to create the best conditions for success.”
So how long are we talking for these, as yet untitled releases? Projects are apparently being delayed out of the financial year ending March 2026 into those ending March 2027, or even March 2028.
As a fan eagerly awaiting any news on The Division 3, I’m now preparing myself to be waiting almost three more years to play the sequel.
Gamers are less concerned with how much money companies like Ubisoft are making, and more with the quality of the products they’re buying from said companies.
In the case of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the delay has seemingly worked for the better, prompting this widespread delay spree. Ubisoft hasn’t given numbers in relation to its financial impact, but has said the game has now recorded over 160 million game hours across all platforms.
It’s been a troubled recent history for Ubisoft, with layoffs, the whole backlash against shutting down The Crew and rendering the game dead, comments about how we don’t really own the games we buy. It’s easy to hit headlines for the wrong reasons in Ubisoft land.
I’m all for this new approach, though. I’m a huge fan of The Division, and I’m looking forward to playing Battle for Brooklyn very soon. If the sequel has to be given more time to bake, so be it, because I want it to be epic.
Oh, and also mentioned in Ubisoft’s earnings are plans to reveal more around the tie-up with Tencent that will encompass Assassin’s Creed, Rainbow Six, and Far Cry.
