Information leaks are nothing new in the gaming industry, but when artbook Official Assassin's Creed Shadows suddenly appeared on an adult site, the gamer community was immediately excited. This leak is not just screenshot, but rather the whole artbook a digital version featuring more than 200 concept images of characters and locations.
According to PC Gamer, a Reddit user recently made a post sharing the URL to an adult hentai site that turned out to contain over 200 digitized images of artbook Assassin's Creed Shadows. Artbook digital usually comes as extra paid content or becomes a bonus from the deluxe version in a AAA game. This leak will certainly have an impact on Ubisoft's marketing strategy for the Assassin's Creed Shadows game going forward.
Losing the Element of Surprise in the Game
One of the main attractions in any Assassin's Creed is an exploration of the world and historical details. Assassin's Creed Shadows which takes place in feudal Japan has built high expectations among gamers. However, with the leak of artbook In this case, some aspects that should have been surprises were known earlier.
Character details, environmental designs, and perhaps even some narrative elements have been widely circulated on the internet. This could potentially detract from the sense of exploration and surprise that players should feel when they first enter the game world.
Ubisoft certainly has its own marketing strategy to reveal information gradually so that hype maintained until the release of the game. However, with a leak of this magnitude, they may need to adjust that strategy.
It could be that some of the planned announcements or presentations that have been prepared become less effective because the public already knows most of the information from the leaked artbooks.
On the other hand, this could be unintentional free publicity. With so much talk about this leak, the name Assassin's Creed Shadows more often, and curiosity about the game may increase. If Ubisoft is able to utilize this momentum wisely, this leak could actually benefit them in terms of marketing.
Influence to Assassin's Creed Shadows Development
Artbook leaks like this may not directly affect the technical aspects of game development, but they can have an impact on certain design decisions. If the leaked information is too extensive, Ubisoft may make minor changes to keep the surprise alive at release.
In addition, this leak could also be a signal for the development team to improve security in keeping their production secrets.
The leaking of the Assassin's Creed Shadows artbook obviously had quite an impact, especially in terms of keeping the element of surprise and Ubisoft's marketing strategy. However, whether this will actually hurt the game as a whole is still up for debate.
On the one hand, leaks can ruin the strategy, but on the other hand, it can also increase exposure and player interest. Now, it's just a matter of how Ubisoft responds to this situation and whether they are able to turn this challenge into an advantage.
