Ubisoft Explains Assassin’s Creed IV Delay on PC

The PC version of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is coming out after the console releases because it’s the last version to be made.

Ubisoft confirmed a couple days ago that the PC version of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag will come out roughly three weeks after it hits the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii U. Ubisoft announced the delay back in June so it wasn’t a surprise, but even so, have you ever stopped to wonder why this keeps happening?

According to Assassin’s Creed 4 Lead Designer Jean-Sebastien Decant, it’s really quite simple. Ubisoft begins development on its games with a “master version” and focuses on that until it’s finished, after which work begins on other platforms. “If for instance, the [Xbox 360] version was the master version, or the PlayStation 3 version was the master version, then we’d need a little bit more time to adapt it for the PC. But we need to finish that other version first,” he told Polygon.

With Assassin’s Creed IV, both current-gen consoles – the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 – served as the master version, while work on the PC and next-gen consoles began once they were complete. “You need to finish one and make sure that it’s clean before you can then finish the others,” he said.

So there you have it. Satisfied? Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag comes out on October 29 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii U, November 19 for the PC and as a launch title for the PlayStation 4 on November 15 and the Xbox One on November 22.

Source: Polygon