After the disastrous year for Ubisoft that was 2024 (sorry Star Wars Outlaws), the AAA company needed a shining light, and Assassin’s Creed Shadows became that light, from the shadows (see what I did there?). It was a near-perfect release from the long-standing franchise with overwhelmingly positive reviews and huge player turn. The devs have seen the support, and something even more amazing occurred!
No Hype, Just Feels
Just a week after Assassin’s Creed Shadows release and we found something that happens so rarely that you need a Master Ball to capture it. It’s something that rarely happens in the hostile world that is AAA games, but Ubisoft has pulled it off. My friends, we have found…sincere gratitude. This past weekend, the dev team for Assassin’s Creed Shadows popped into the Reddit with a heartfelt post, thanking fans for their support of the game development.
Seeing your excitement, your thoughtful reactions, and your joy has meant the world to us. After years of hard work, there’s nothing more rewarding than watching the community connect with what we’ve created.
There was no corporate speak, no overhyped fluff, just a team of devs overwhelmed (in a good way for once) by the community response. Like I said, it was a rare instance indeed, as the dev team had been under fire recently due to cultural backlash. Many fans couldn’t understand why a black man was in feudal Japan (my researcher’s heart broke at this). This is a travesty, as Yasuke was a real samurai who served under Nobunaga Oda during this period.
Not Just Devs—Real People
This wasn’t a regular PR stunt. It was real people—artist, writers, designers, programmers—who’ve dedicated a huge chunk of time and massive portions of their lives into Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Instead of brushing off all the praise or ignoring any comments by the fans, they showed up to say thank you directly. The whole message feels like a quiet, “We see what you’ve done, and we are so grateful for it.”
This weekend, many of us on the Dev Team spent time reading your reactions across the Assassin’s Creed subreddit, and we just want to say thank you. The sheer amount of love and positivity we’ve received has been incredibly heartwarming.
This is the kind of energy that’s missing from a lot of AAA devs. This was a true connection between and game franchise and its community, and honestly? We need more of it, as most gamers and devs get lost in the negatives that they forget there are a lot of positives within the gaming community. Assassin’s Creed Shadows looks to be setting a standard for many things.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re hyped for samurai duels, stalking from the shadows, or just vibing with the feudal Japan setting (my favorite part!), Assassin’s Creed Shadows is shaping up to be something special. And the message from the devs? Yeah, it shows the heart behind the hoods! So to the Assassin’s Creed Shadow’s team: we see you too. And we can’t wait for the future!
