Wrath of the Druids, the first major DLC expansion for Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, has been delayed. Publisher Ubisoft announced the news in a tweet posted earlier today, moving the expansion’s release date from April 29 to May 13, 2021.
The Wrath of the Druids DLC is set to follow Valhalla’s protagonist Eivor on a trip to Ireland. Although the time setting of the DLC has yet to be confirmed, we do know it revolves around the Children of Danu, a pack of druids who pose a significant threat to Eivor. Ubisoft has yet to release details on the status of Valhalla’s other upcoming expansion, the Siege of Paris.
Currently, the only reason given for Wrath of the Druids’ delay is “to deliver a more refined experience.” It’s unclear what this precisely means, although the promise of a forthcoming developer update looks set to clear up any confusion as to why the DLC has been pushed back. The likely case is needing more time to clean up small bugs and glitches. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has already caused many other delays, so it’s possible that’s also a factor. In a climate where games like Deathloop are being delayed for months, a more meager postponement of just a few weeks doesn’t seem so bad.
Despite this setback, players will be raring to get back into the world of Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. The franchise’s first foray onto PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, its sales have been far more impressive than Odyssey, the previous entry in the series. That said, criticism has been drawn towards the variety of bugs still present more than six months after launch. This includes one particular glitch involving a lack of audio when riding horses, which has still yet to be patched. Despite this, two expansive DLC packs on the horizon look set to preserve Valhalla’s life cycle… Even if players will have to wait a few more weeks to play them.