On February 24, we reported that Assassin’s Creed Shadows had unfortunately leaked online, with numerous individuals streaming the game a full month before its scheduled release date on March 20. Over the weekend, as noted by the GamingLeaksandRumours subreddit, now-deleted social media posts revealed that physical copies of the game were being sold prematurely, leading to multiple streams of the unreleased title appearing on platforms such as Twitch.

In response to this breach, Ubisoft, the developer and publisher behind the game, has taken to the Assassin's Creed subreddit to address the situation. They confirmed their awareness of players accessing Assassin’s Creed Shadows before its official launch. Ubisoft emphasized that the development team is diligently working on finalizing patches to ensure the game's quality at launch, and cautioned that any circulating footage does not reflect the game's final state.

"Leaks are unfortunate and can diminish the excitement for players," Ubisoft stated, urging the community to refrain from spoiling the experience for others. They expressed gratitude towards the community for their efforts in mitigating spoilers and encouraged everyone to stay tuned for more official updates in the coming weeks, reminding fans that the release date of March 20 is approaching fast.

This incident adds further pressure on Ubisoft and the Assassin's Creed franchise, which has faced its share of challenges. Previously, the development team issued apologies for using a historical recreation group's flag without permission and for inaccuracies in Assassin's Creed Shadows' depictions of Japan. Initially slated for a November release, the game's launch was postponed to February 14, and then further delayed to the current date of March 20. With struggling Ubisoft needing a strong performance from this title due to disappointing sales of recent releases and investor backlash, the success of Assassin’s Creed Shadows is more crucial than ever.