Assassin’s Creed Jade likely delayed to 2025, report claims

videogameschronicle.com:

Assassin’s Creed Jade’s release has reportedly been delayed from this year to 2025.

That’s according to Reuters sources, who claim that Tencent has recently redeployed hundreds of developers who had been working on the free-to-play mobile game as part of a wider strategy shift.

Due to this, the open-world action-adventure game, which is set in China and has been in development for at least four years, is now expected release next year rather in 2024, they said.

Assassin’s Creed Jade is set to be published by Tencent’s Level Infinite division, after Ubisoft announced a major strategic partnership with the Chinese company in 2022.

Tencent’s decision to deprioritise the game is reportedly part of a wider move to focus more on in-house titles and less on major western franchises from external partners.

Last May, EA discontinued Tencent-developed Apex Legends Mobile after just a year of service, citing quality concerns.

And in December, Tencent reportedly cancelled an unannounced mobile game based on Square Enix’s Nier series after failing to find an adequate monetisation model for the title.

“Mobile games studios have learned that IP is not the magic bullet for user acquisition it once was,” Serkan Toto, founder of game industry consultancy Kantan Games, told Reuters.

Tencent chief strategy officer James Mitchell said during an earnings call this week. “We’re focusing on fewer bigger budget games. Typically, we’re seeking to make the biggest bets around games that either iterate on a successful IP … or games that are iterating around proven gameplay success within a niche and taking those to a more mass market.”

Ubisoft recently confirmed that Assassin’s Creed Codename Red, which Is set in feudal Japan, will be released before April 2025.