Ubisoft has indicated that it needs a month or so extra development time to finesse the PC version of Assassin's Creed: Syndicate. The game will arrive on consoles first, the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game will be available from 23rd October. PC gamers will have to wait until 19th November.
The Ubisoft Blog quotes Sam Kovalev, Studio Production Manager at Ubisoft Kiev, as saying "The additional four weeks are for us to really bear down and finalize all of the polish and optimization, to make sure the game and all of its systems are stable when it launches, so it runs smoothly for all players starting on day one," and this is the key reason for the delay. Kovalev went further with his positive spin, "We have introduced several new improvements to our production pipeline and validation process… stabilizing and optimizing the PC version very early on in the project". He indicated that such refinement has been a priority for the production team this year.
Ubisoft hasn't published, or even finalised, the PC system requirements for Assassin's Creed: Syndicate yet. The Kiev team are looking to target 1080p and 30fps gameplay with the 'Recommended' PC system specs. If you have a high-end PC you may be pleased to know that "there will be no locks on the game as far as framerate and resolution goes".
Assassin's Creed: Unity, launched about the same time last year, was slated for its bugs and performance from day one. In November we will be able to see if Ubisoft has learned from its previous mistakes or is just paying lip service right now. Watch out for review embargoes…