Assassin's Creed Shadows

Since its first release in 2007, the Assassin's Creed series has sold over 200 million copies worldwide. It is Ubisoft's flagship brand and has evolved from a stealth action-adventure to an action role-playing game with huge game worlds. Now it's time for the next major game in the franchise, which combines both stealth action and action RPG.

After the more classic spin-off Assassin's Creed Mirage (2023), the French publisher Ubisoft will release the next major instalment in the series in November, which will bridge the gap between the old and new AC games - set in Japan during the late Sengoku period, known for its political turmoil, wars and dramatic social reform. The game has been designed to fulfil two player phantasies: Shinobi and Samurai. This means that the two protagonists, Yasuke and Naoe, offer different gameplay experiences and overlapping perspectives, with each character having their own progression path, abilities, weapon options and stats. That dual protagonists, Yasuke and Naoe, offer distinct and complementary gameplay experiences and overlapping perspectives, with each character having their own progression path, abilities, weapon options and stats. After their separate introductions at the beginning of the game, players can choose to complete missions with either character.

As the samurai Yasuke, players will be able to take on multiple enemies at once, either with massive swings from his kanabo or one-on-one with his katana. He can also take out enemies from a distance with the teppo, a rifle. This is where the enhancements to the combat system come into play, with destructible armour, devastating but risky posture attacks and multi-weapon combat. Naoe, on the other hand, prefers to work quietly. She can go prone and crawl through tall grass, peek around corners or extinguish lights to hide in the shadows. With her grappling hook, she can swing and climb, knock out NPCs, assassinate targets from a distance with her kusarigama, and more. However, she is more vulnerable than Yasuke in direct combat.

Another highlight is the game world of ancient Japan, which not only boasts stunning visuals thanks to the latest iteration of the Anvil engine, but also dynamic seasons and weather that will affect gameplay. Naoe is harder to spot when infiltrating at night, and doubly so when the rain picks up and muffles her sounds. If a mission takes place in the spring, she can hide in the bushes and sneak underwater through a pond. In winter, the pond would be frozen, bushes would have no leaves to hide her, and the snow would reveal her footsteps.

Naoe and Yasuke begin the game fighting on opposite sides, before uniting for common goals. As they usher in a new era for Japan, players will be able to switch between characters in the open world at any time to tackle situations and enemies in different ways. Another first for the series. Players will also be able to use a new exploration feature called the Spy Network. Naoe and Yasuke can send their spies out to scout locations and gather useful information about destinations, habits and other secrets of the world.

The game is being developed under the direction of Ubisoft Québec, the studio responsible for Assassin's Creed Odyssey (2018) and Immortals: Fenyx Rising (2020), among others. Co-development studios include Ubisoft Barcelona, Belgrade, Bordeaux, Bucharest, Chengdu, Kyiv, Milan, Montpellier, Montreal, Odesa, Osaka, Philippines, Pune, Shanghai, Singapore, Sofia and Toronto, and with support from Ubisoft Japan. Nearly 20 studios are involved in the title, which gives an idea of the publisher's commitment to Assassin's Creed Shadows. It is the first AC for current generation consoles and PC only.

When players launch Assassin's Creed Shadows for the first time, they'll see the new Animus environment (Animus Hub, formerly known as Assassin's Creed Infinity), the hacked Dark Animus of the modern Assassin's Creed world. While navigating the Hub, players will be able to access a timeline of the series' most recent main characters, unlock additional quests in Assassin's Creed Shadows and receive free rewards as they progress. It will launch with four core features: Memories, Projects, the Exchange and the Vault. All rewards available in the Animus Hub will be completely free and can be unlocked by completing in-game missions. Players will also have access to regular content updates and new missions at no additional cost. The Animus Hub will launch on all versions of Assassin's Creed Shadows (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Ubisoft+, Luna, Mac). It is not a standalone launcher and there are currently no plans to make it standalone. Assassin's Creed Mirage, Valhalla, Odyssey and Origins can be launched from the hub, but it does not currently support titles released prior to Assassin's Creed Origins. The platform will continue to grow with new features and content being added over the coming months and years.

Assassin's Creed Shadows has been delayed several times by Ubisoft. Originally scheduled for release on 15 November 2024, it was then pushed back to 2025 - a decision that was also attributed to the underperformance of Star Wars Outlaws, giving the game more time to improve in quality and also scrapping the traditional season pass model. All players will be able to enjoy the game at the same time (no advanced access) and those who pre-order the game will receive the first expansion (Claws of Awaji) for free. Another pre-order bonus is exclusive access to the bonus quest 'Thrown to the Dogs' at launch. The game will also mark the return of new Ubisoft releases to Steam on Day 1 and the game is Steam Deck verified as well. Originally set for 14 February 2025, Ubisoft has moved the release date to 20 March 2025 as part of its "renewed focus on quality gameplay and engaging Day 1 experiences". This took the game out of the release heavy month of February 2025 (Kingdom Come Deliverance II, Monster Hunter Wilds, etc.).

"Additionally, we are all behind our teams' efforts to create the most ambitious Assassin's Creed opus of the franchise and made the decision to provide an extra month of development to Shadows in order to better incorporate the player feedback gathered over the past three months that will enable us to fully deliver on the potential of the game and finish the year on a strong note." - Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft

This postponement of what is probably Ubisoft's most important title makes the company more interesting for potential investors or buyers, as reported by GamesMarkt. According to the publisher, pre-orders in mid-February 2025 are in line with those of Assassin's Creed Odyssey, the second most successful entry in the franchise.

Assassin's Creed Shadows will be released worldwide on 20 March 2025 via Ubisoft+ (subscription), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Amazon Luna, Macs with Apple Silicon via the Mac App Store and for Windows PC via the Ubisoft Store, Steam and the Epic Games Store. The exclusive Limited Edition is available on Amazon, which includes the Naoe Sekiryuu Character Pack in addition to the main game. At Media Markt and Saturn, customers who purchase the standard edition will receive an exclusive steelbook case (while stocks last).

Conclusion

Ubisoft has set the right course with Assassin's Creed Shadows! The setting, the dual protagonists, the gameplay, the updated visuals and modernized engine - everything looks promising.