European gaming industrys fate in the balance as Ubisofts Assassins Creed Shadows release sparks hopes [Video]

PARIS, March 21 — Yesterday’s release of action-adventure epic “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” marks a make-or-break moment not just for struggling French games heavyweight Ubisoft, but for the entire European gaming ecosystem.

With its almost 18,000 employees and global footprint, Ubisoft has nevertheless suffered one setback after another in recent years with disappointing releases, a dwindling stock price, harassment allegations against former bosses and repeated strikes.

The company is falling back on its longtime major money-spinner “Assassin’s Creed” to pull it from the doldrums, this time with an episode set in medieval Japan.

“I’ve never seen things this way” as the whole European industry looks to Ubisoft, Midcap Partners analyst Charles-Louis Planade told AFP ahead of the launch.

More than 17 Ubisoft studios employing hundreds have poured five years of work into “Shadows”, with an estimated budget running into hundreds of …