The Death Star is looming large in the sky, with Ubisoft's increasingly tenuous relationship with its fans looking like the planet Alderaan - primed and ready to be blown to smithereens. While Ubisoft is one of the biggest publishers around, it feels like it's done nothing but put out fires recently.

Alongside accusations that it's gone 'woke' by giving us a female-led Star Wars game, Star Wars Outlaws was then hit with disappointing sales, a race row has struck Assassin's Creed Shadows, and the publisher's stock continues to plummet. It seems Ubisoft can't do anything right, and even some seemingly good news is overshadowed by drama.

Star Wars Outlaws takes the blame for Assassin's Creed Shadows delay

>PC release in November

OH! That's why they delayed AC:S.

So you can desperately attempt to sell more copies of Outlaws!

— Phontomen (@Phontomen) September 25, 2024

Due to a vocal group's complaints about Assassin's Creed Shadows including Yasuke as a black samurai, there were already calls to delay the game until changes were made. We assumed this would be impossible so close to Shadows' release, and while this likely isn't the cause, we now know the much-anticipated title is being delayed until February 14, 2025.

With rumours of panic stations over at Ubisoft, the publisher has tried to keep disgruntled gamers happy by updating us on the state of Star Wars Outlaws. As well as promises that feedback is being used to help with gameplay tweaks and optimisation, a September 25 post confirmed what's next for the stealthy sci-fi game.

Alongside Outlaws' first DLC coming on November 21, Ubisoft has confirmed the title will be released on Steam the next day. While this should be great news, it's being marred by Shadows' delay. Announcing a struggling game's Steam release on the day you push another one back might've not been the best marketing move.

Notably, angry fans are blaming Outlaws for Shadows' delay, saying that the latter has been shoved into next year so the former can sell more copies. One unimpressed fan wrote, "PC release in November OH! That's why they delayed AC:S. So you can desperately attempt to sell more copies of Outlaws!"

Someone else chimed in, "Two announcements from Ubisoft about two of their failed games right before their earnings call? Not surprised," while a third concluded, "The 'release now, update/fix later' thing is getting reeeeeal old. Why wasn't this done before launch? Gee, I am struggling to think why Ubisoft is slowly crumbling..."

Both Outlaws and Shadows have faced their fair share of controversy, which is concerning, considering one of them isn't even out yet. It looks like we have a long road ahead of us until Assassin's Creed Shadows releases, but with lessons hopefully learned from Outlaws' rocky start, let's hope it's a better 2025 for Ubisoft.