Ubisoft Insists Assassin's Creed Shadows Preorders are 'Tracking Solidly,' In Line With Odyssey

Ubisoft has insisted that its upcoming open world adventure Assassin's Creed Shadows has a strong number of preorders despite its troubled development and promotional period.

The struggling publisher said in its latest financial report that "preorders for the game are tracking solidly, in line with those of Assassin's Creed Odyssey, the second most successful entry of the franchise."

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot maintained this confidence, saying the company is currently "fully focused on the upcoming launch of Assassin’s Creed Shadows on March 20.

"Early previews have been positive, praising its narrative and immersive experience, with both characters playing critical roles in the game’s storyline, as well as the quality and complementarity of the gameplay provided by the dual protagonist approach.

"I want to commend the incredible talent and dedication of the entire Assassin’s Creed’s team, who is working tirelessly to ensure that Shadows delivers on the promise of what is the franchise’s most ambitious entry yet."

Assassin's Creed Shadows was originally planned for November before Ubisoft bumped it back to February 14. But while that means fans should have been playing the game tomorrow, another delay saw it pushed again to the current release date of March 20.

A lot rests on the shoulders of Assassin's Creed Shadows as not only the long-awaited Japan-set entry and the first full Assassin's Creed since 2020, but a struggling Ubisoft needs it to perform well following recent flops and investor frustration.

It's not enjoyed a particularly positive promotional period so far, however, with the development team having to apologize on separate occasions for inaccuracies in Assassin's Creed Shadows' depictions of Japan and using a historical recreation group's flag without permission.

Yet another controversy came as collectible figure maker PureArts removed an Assassin's Creed Shadows statue from sale over its "insensitive" design, and combined with the two delays, fans are growing increasingly impatient as a result.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.