Assassin's Creed: Shadows will be a game developed primarily by newcomers. This was revealed by the executive producer of the series, Marc-Alexis Cote, during the XDS24 Fireside Keynote.
According to the developer, the pandemic significantly reduced the number of internships in gaming studios, so companies have been sending newcomers straight into development.
I've noticed since the pandemic, we have a lot of juniors in our teams. The seniority has lowered globally. Probably half the team that's building Assassin's Creed is building a game for the first time.
Cote mentioned that the inexperience of the developers has led to a distorted perception of the game. Some team members are skeptical, but the producer reassured that this is normal.
You have to explain to them that even though they're playing the game right now, and they think it's the worst thing they've ever seen, it's gonna be good. We're gonna get there. I've been there as a leader.
I remember my first time on Assassin's Creed. It was July, the game was shipping in October. I thought, 'there's no way this game is shipping,' then it gets a 91 on Metacritic.
Assassin's Creed: Shadows will be released on February 14 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.