Ubisoft boss claims that it knows its players are unhappy with the 'inconsistency of quality' and has delayed Assassin's Creed Shadows in order to change this script

There are people who complain, but I enjoy the big open worlds of Ubisoft. It's the formula that Ubisoft uses for games like Assassin's creed and Far Cry, which allows me to achieve a zen-like state. Just me, my controller, a map with little icons I can tick off and no regions of my mind light up. Bliss.

It's easy to find people who criticize the company's games for their samey-ness or for the writing or even the technical bugs. Ubisoft is aware of this, which is why Assassin's Creed's Vice President Executive Producer Marc-Alexis Cote told Eurogamer recently that "Ubisoft's Portfolio has faced criticism over the past few years for a perceived lack of consistency in quality." This was why AC Shadows was pushed back to February next year.

Cote said that players can afford to be selective and choose only the best. They also demand excellence. In 2024, the average player will expect "more polish, innovation, and deeper engagement" from the games that we release. They won't be shy to let us know if we fall short. That's the truth, isn't it?

Ubisoft, in other words, has been hurt by the criticism. "Assassin's Creed Shadows is our chance to change this narrative, not only for Assassin's Creed but for Ubisoft, I think." The original release date for November of this year was pushed back to February. "Today, being is not enough.

Cote's statement sounds like he's saying that Shadows wasn't ready for a November release, at least according to Ubisoft, and that it has been delayed so that it can reach the next level of quality.

It's hard to know what that means in non-executive speak. Was the game going to be a trainwreck had it launched in November? Would it just have been a little buggy if it had launched in November? Ubisoft has been spooked and hopes to ride out the storm created by the most annoying people on the internet over the game featuring a Black Samurai by delaying the release.

Cote's next thought might give us some insight. Assassin's Creed Unity was supposed to be Ubisoft's grand debut on a new generation of consoles in 2014. But it became a laughingstock due to the sheer number (and sometimes nightmare) bugs that players encountered. Cote said that the technical problems at launch had a profound impact on Ubisoft, from production to publishing.

Cote says that was a "low-point" for the studio. But it also taught them "how important it was to maintain quality and integrity in the player experience right from the start, a lesson we still carry with us today." This sounds to me as if Shadows is a little too broken to be released this month. Ubisoft could run into another Unity-style disaster.

A fiasco which still irritates me. Unity, in its current state, is one of the best AC titles out there. It has some problems, including a French Revolution depiction so reactionary that it could have been written Charles X and a UI which sometimes feels like a psychiatric attack on the player. It was a tight-knit game that felt heavy to play. The combat was challenging and encouraged stealth for the first time ever in the series. Honestly? I think AC should have gone in a different direction than its post-Origins style of open-world, but what's been done is done.

I digress. "This extra time allows for us to polish each aspect and set a standard for the series, one that I'm hoping will carry us for years," Cote says. "We believe Shadows is going to shine as a showcase of Ubisoft talent and dedication and will set a benchmark in quality for this franchise." Is this how it will actually turn out? We'll know in February.