April 24, 2026

Ubisoft shows how to own the conversation

by Will Guyatt, Tech Journalist and Broadcaster

Mistakes happen - it’s how you recover that matters. In my first week as a freelancer 15 years ago, I offered a games industry leader I was trying to convince to hire me a 15% disco*unt if they worked with me. Realising the error, the colour drained from my face, but I quickly apologised for any potential offence and made light of a potentially career harming error. I rolled with it, and thankfully, still work with them today, although I still check every message I send them.

So much about Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced has leaked that if it were actually a pirate ship, it would be at the bottom of the ocean. Everyone from the age-rating boards, statue makers, retailers and even its own lead actor confirmed its existence before the official reveal.

Given that rumours of the game’s existence go back as far as 2023, Ubisoft has wisely embraced the chaos around this cursed rollout by billing its own online stream as “Gaming’s Worst Kept Secret.”

Despite all the leaks, it was perhaps pitch perfect that a clip from the reveal trailer made its way onto social media a few days early, the first look at actual in-game footage. Some would call this incredibly unlucky that the game was living up to its self-styled moniker, but I’m prepared to believe this was a nine-dimensional chess level genius move by someone in marketing or PR. Even the line “We know you know, but how about we tell you some more now?” made me tune in.

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Black Flag is a much loved Assassin’s Creed game, but the “ground up remake” and its new features show you can still serve up a surprise to gamers who felt the reveal had been spoiled. I’m definitely going to enjoy this when it launches in July.

You see: good things can come from owning your mistakes!

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Some more insights

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Bastion Weekly News Digest

For more expert insight and analysis of all the latest news in the games industry, subscribe to the Bastion Weekly News Digest on Substack.

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