Will Ghost of Yotei Mark the End of Assassin’s Creed Era? Why Sucker Punch’s New Game Is Going to Change the Industry Forever

The end of the recently concluded PlayStation’s State of Play was filled with awe when Sucker Punch announced Ghost of Yotei. This game serves as the sequel to Ghost of Tsushima. But this time, the story goes beyond Jin Sakai and Tsushima Island. Like its predecessor, the upcoming title will be based on feudal Japan.

However, there is one game that is based on the same setting as well, and that is Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Despite being plotted on similar locations, the latter is facing huge backlashes due to tampering with Japanese history and culture. Now, the arrival of Yotei might put fuel to that controversy and put the final nail in the coffin of this long-hailed franchise.

Ghost of Yotei vs Assasin’s Creed Shadows

The major reason for this huge comparison is the setting of both the third-person open-world games. Shadows takes place during the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568-1603), a time of great upheaval and conflict in feudal Japan.

On the other hand, Ghost of Yotei is based on feudal Japan in the year 1603, where the samurai warrior, Atsu, finds herself in the vicinity of Yotei Mountain, which is a towering peak in the heart of Ezo (presently Hokkaido).

Here the main point of controversy is regarding the inclusion of Yasuke, a samurai warrior who is of African descent. Shadows is going to be the first game that will be based on Japanese culture, and people couldn’t understand why Ubisoft didn’t opt for an actual Japanese samurai character. Although Naoe is there, but she is a fictional character, whereas Yasuke is a real historical figure.

Yasuke came to Japan in 1579 and served the famed daimyō Oda Nobunaga. We know very little about Yasuke’s real life, but developers have integrated known facts about his connections with the Jesuits, Portuguese, and Nobunaga.

However, the developers of Ghost of Yotei assured us that they “wanted to maintain the core pillars established in Ghost of Tsushima.” That is why the upcoming game might put an end to this long-standing franchise. People didn’t even bother to show up for the Shadows exhibition at the Japan Expo 2024 in Paris.

Ubisoft Delays Assassin’s Creed Shadows Launch

Initially, Assassin’s Creed Shadows was planned to launch on November 15, 2024. However, Ubisoft has recently announced that the release of the game has been delayed to February 14, 2025. The company also stated the reason for this delay in a statement to the investors:

The learnings from the Star Wars Outlaws release led us to provide additional time to further polish the title.

They also stated that initial sales were softer than expected, but after some updates based on the players’ feedback, they hope to see a rise in the sales, and it will be “a strong long-term performer.”

Now, coincidentally, this announcement comes just one day after the announcement of Ghost of Yotei. Another interesting fact is that Shadows has been delayed until the same year when Sucker Punch’s upcoming title will be released.

However, the CFO of Ubisoft, Frederick Duguet, is absolutely not bothered about this clash. He promised in the investor call’s Q&A portion that the company is focusing on delivering a fantastic experience with the dual protagonist approach. He also assured us that they are sure to polish the game and provide this fantastic promise.

Do you also think Ghost of Yotei is going to be the final frontier of the Assassin’s Creed franchise? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.

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