"The current climate is tough on our creative teams. They face lies, half truths and personal attacks online."

The Assassin's Creed franchise's boss has admitted that the series' "modern storyline struggled to find its footing" after the third game, but Ubisoft will take a "new direction" with it in Assassin's Creed Shadows - a game which could also let the studio overcome criticisms about the quality of its releases.

Assassin's Creed Shadows' lead Marc-Alexis Cote has explained the game was delayed to ensure the Ubisoft could beat its "perceived inconsistency in quality" after some of the studio's recent releases disappointed.

So, to boil it down, it sounds like Côté is saying Shadows was in a good but not great spot for a November release—at least in Ubisoft's estimation—and that the game has been delayed to give it a chance to reach that next level of quality before it gets into players' hands.