Tokyo Games Show & Assassin’s Creed Shadows Preview Cancelled

Ubisoft is having a miserable day in Japan. The company has allegedly cancelled the press previews of Assassin’s Creed Shadows and bailed on the Tokyo Game Show.

The news is another blow to Ubisoft’s reputation after a tumultuous summer that even had a coup attempt play out.

The PR department at Ubisoft has yet to comment on the news outside a post on the Ubisoft Japan page apologizing for the short notice of bailing out of the Tokyo Game Show.

The wording feels intentionally vague, stating that this decision was “due to various circumstances, “according to one translation.

The French company has stayed quiet about the alleged canceled press previews for Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

The timing has sparked major concern as multiple sources confirmed that review keys would be sent before the end of September.

There has been no official word on whether the November release window for Assassin’s Creed Shadows is still standing. All eyes are on Ubisoft’s next press interactions, with players hoping this will not derail the release of such a highly anticipated title.

How Did 2024 Go Wrong At Ubisoft

It is hard to imagine anyone at Ubisoft could have seen 2024 going this poorly back in January. The year’s plans centered around arena shooter XDefiant and big-name RPGs Star Wars Outlaws and Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

XDefiant ended its turbulent development cycle in May, clocking 8 million players within a week of release. In August, Ubisoft laid off several XDefiant team members.

Concurrent player numbers barely break 20 thousand now, and there are insider reports that the entire project might die like Concord if Season 3 does not bring players back.

Ubisoft went all in on Star Wars Outlaws, but the August 30th release date brought bad news. In the United Kingdom, the new open-world RPG fell way behind the numbers posted by Star Wars: Jedi Survivor.

As news surfaced of Outlaws struggling in the market, investors began dumping Ubisoft stock, driving it to a 10-year low.

Less than two weeks after the release, Slovakian hedge fund AJ Investments and Partners published an open letter calling on Ubisoft’s owners to either privatize the company or facilitate a takeover.

The other “solutions” outlined in the letter were the investor special: layoffs, ditching IPs, and swapping management.

Ubisoft is no stranger to drama or mismanagement, so it is unlikely to go belly up any time soon despite its Japan nightmare today.

The uncertainty about Assassin’s Creed leaves a sour taste for fans, who have overwhelmingly seen Ubisoft as a problem child rather than a source of great games for many years now.