Image: Ubisoft
Ubisoft has officially cancelled Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ early access period for those who purchased its Collector’s and Gold editions.
Ubisoft has confirmed that Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ previously-announced early access period has been cancelled. Previously, the game developer had promised 72 hours of early access to Assassin’s Creed Shadows for anyone who purchased its Collector’s Edition and Gold Edition – but this was before the game was delayed to 2025 and its Season Pass DLC plan reworked.
During its announcement of the delay, the company had confirmed that it was “departing from the traditional Season Pass model” and that “all players will be able to enjoy the game at the same time,” but a Discord Q&A session held this week has confirmed that the Season Pass has been scrapped entirely, and thus won’t be included in the collector’s edition.
Ubisoft officially scraps Season Pass and early access for Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Ubisoft has made it official: Assassin’s Creed Shadows will not host a 72-hour early access period before launch, breaking its usual pattern for mainline releases. This follows the publisher’s announcement that Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been delayed from November 15 this year to February 14, 2025, and that it would be refunding all pre-orders for the game. Future pre-orders would include access to its first expansion for free.
In a separate press release updating its financial targets for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, the company also confirmed that it was “departing” from its tried-and-tested paid Season Pass DLC model. All players would be able to “enjoy the game at the same time on February 14,” including Steam users. This was hidden away in a press release most consumers might not have been able to pick up on however, so it’s understandable that many didn’t notice at the time.
This week however, Ubisoft hosted a Q&A session on the Assassin’s Creed Discord server to clear up any confusion surrounding its next big game. According to a now-deleted post by Insider Gaming (documented on ResetEra), the company confirmed that the Assassin’s Creed Shadows collector’s edition bundle will be seeing some pretty major changes. This includes the cancellation of its previously-promised 72 hours of early access, and total removal of its season pass.
That must be what Ubisoft meant by “departing from the traditional Season Pass model.” Several changes apparently might still be made to the rest of the collector’s edition’s contents, such as its statue, steelbook, art book and overall design. Understandably, the bundle’s price has now been decreased from $279 to $229. It is unclear if the Assassin’s Creed Shadows Gold Edition will see a similar price reduction, but it’s likely, as it also included a Season Pass and 72 hours of early access.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows will now launch on February 14, 2025 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
