Today is a crucial day for videogame giant Ubisoft as it finally releases Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the latest game in its long-running franchise.
The performance of the title could have a direct impact on UK staff at the French-headquartered firm, which in January revealed plans to close its office in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire and restructure its Newcastle base.
Those moves, part of a wider cost reduction program to be achieved by the end FY25, were said to have put 100 UK jobs at risk. The firm also has a studio in Guildford, Surrey.
Ubisoft said last month that the plans to reduce its fixed cost base by more than €200m by the end of FY2024-25 – compared with FY2022-23 – were ahead of schedule thanks in part to the closure of Leamington Spa and three other ‘high-cost’ geographies – including San Francisco and Osaka, Japan – as well as targeted restructurings at three other sites, including Newcastle and Sydney, Australia.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows was originally due for release in November but has been hit by two delays.
Last month Ubisoft said preorders were ‘tracking solidly’, in line with those of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, the second most successful entry in the franchise.
The most successful – and recent – was Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, which was released in 2020 and became the first to make over $1bn in revenue.
However big titles since that time, including Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Star Wars Outlaws, have flopped. Ubisoft’s stock fell more than 40% last year while its founding Guillemot family – still its largest shareholder – has held talks with Tencent and other investors on a buyout deal.
Shadows is set in feudal Japan and features a female assassin and black samurai as lead characters.
“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,” Yves Guillemot, co-founder and CEO of Ubisoft, said recently.
“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.”
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