It has been confirmed that Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will be a cross-generation title, so there’s a possibility for a staggered release date. Either that or the game will have a simultaneous release for both console generations. Since neither the PS5 or Xbox Series X have concrete release dates other than “holiday,” it’s possible Assassin’s Creed’s release date could change depending on the consoles as well. As one of the strangest console release years begins to unfold, there’s several factors that could affect Valhalla’s release date, but fans should rest assured that everything seems to indicate that the game will land this holiday season.
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Past Assassin’s Creed Releases
Games in the Assassin’s Creed franchise have shifted a bit in its initial outings, but generally release in the autumn. Prior to the releases becoming annualized and now semi-annualized, the first Assassin’s Creed game came out in November of 2007. With just a few outliers like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Syndicate coming out in early to mid-October, practically every entry in the franchise has come out in either the last week of October or the first week of November. Granted some games received delays like Unity, but the release date was only pushed back about a week. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will likely follow suit and release around early November at the latest, with October looking a rather sweet spot as well.
Looking back to a specific title, Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag found itself in a similar release schedule situation as Valhalla does now. Granted there wasn’t a pandemic affecting the games industry and the global economy in many ways, but Black Flag did release at the start of a new console generation. Ubisoft made the decision to stagger the release dates, likely due to the transition to the next-generation adding its respective development hurdles. Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag came out for PS3 and Xbox 360 on October 29, 2013, and eventually came to PS4 and Xbox One on November 15 and November 22, respectively.
A similar situation could occur for Valhalla, but the difference on release date would likely be minimal like Black Flag. Simply put, there’s no real possibility of the game launching more than a few weeks apart, given its currently development time frame, unless there a significant delay in its total development.
Potential Complications in 2020
It is important to note that 2020 has been full of economic hardships felt across the world. With complications due to the Covid-19 pandemic affecting various international industries, video games have not been immune to the ripple effects. Around the end of March of this year, reports started coming out about supply shortages for new consoles as well as potential delays on the release of PS5 and Xbox Series X. It’s even more likely that unspoken complications have affected the reveal of those consoles, especially with E3’s cancellation forcing Sony and Microsoft to shift its plans.
These same effects apply to the games themselves as well. Many developers are under shelter-in-place orders, being forced to work from home during difficult development processes that are typically highly collaborative. Games that haven’t released yet like The Last of Us 2 have seen delays as a result of sheltering orders. Even games like Super Smash. Bros Ultimate, which have already been out for a while, are delaying DLC updates due to the various stay at home orders around the world. Even Ubisoft itself has issued a statement on delays for Rainbow Six Siege, so it’s very possible Assassin’s Creed Valhalla could see a development impact as well. Though the game still has another six months of development, shelter-in-place orders could be lifted by this fall and Valhalla could come out on time.
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When To Expect Valhalla’s Release
Caveats aside, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will likely see a release date for the beginning of November or mid-October. Practically every Assassin’s Creed game, even with short delays, released between an October 15 - November 15 timeline. Taking this into account, a likely target date would probably be either October 30 or November 6, 2020. Again, “target” date is the key word here, as there’s still a variety of factors that could contribute to Valhalla getting a delay. Not to mention many other titles in the upcoming Ubisoft library were delayed in 2019 for reasons outside of the pandemic. Nevertheless, Ubisoft hasn’t put out any official word on delays for upcoming titles, so it’s a waiting game of whether or not Valhalla gets hit with a delay.
Of course the last game, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, did come out earlier (October 5, 2018) than previous entries in the series. Considering past releases, and assuming there aren’t other unforeseen complications, end of October/early November is likely when Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will come out.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is slated for release in holiday 2020 for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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