Assassin's Creed Shadows

Assassin's Creed Shadows
Developer(s)	Ubisoft Quebec[a]
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Director(s)	Jonathan Dumont Charles Benoit
Producer(s)	Karl Onnée
Artist(s)	Thierry Dansereau
Writer(s)	Ryan Galletta
Composer(s)	The Flight[2] TEKE::TEKE[3]
Series	Assassin's Creed
Engine	Ubisoft Anvil
Platform(s)	PlayStation 5 Windows Xbox Series X/S macOS iPadOS
Release	WW: February 14, 2025
Genre(s)	Action role-playing
Mode(s)	Single-player

Assassin's Creed Shadows is an upcoming action role-playing game developed by Ubisoft Quebec and published by Ubisoft. The game is the fourteenth major installment in the Assassin's Creed series and the successor to 2023's Assassin's Creed Mirage, as well as the first title to be included in the Assassin's Creed: Infinity platform.

Set in 16th-century Japan towards the end of the Sengoku period, the game will focus on the millennia-old struggle of the Assassin Brotherhood, who fight for peace and liberty, and the Templar Order, who desire peace through control, from the perspective of two protagonists: Naoe, a female shinobi, and Yasuke,^[b] an African samurai inspired by the historical figure of the same name.^[c] The two characters control differently and provide a unique gameplay style, allowing quests to be approached in multiple ways.

Shadows is scheduled to release for PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S, macOS, and iPadOS on February 14, 2025.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is an action-adventure stealth game similar to its predecessors. It is developed on an upgraded version of Anvil, utilizing dynamic lighting and environmental interactions with new enhancements such as breakable props, in addition to allowing players to manipulate shadows and use a grappling hook for parkour.^[5] The game's open world, whose size is comparable to that from Assassin's Creed Origins,^[6] progresses through seasons, each affecting gameplay, including frozen water and icicles in winter, long grass and blooming plants in spring. Missions are non-linear, encouraging players to track and eliminate targets freely; in a change from previous games, vantage points will exist in the world but only to help the player scan the environment for points of interest, rather than populating the player's map with objectives markers.^[7] Alternatively, one can recruit and train a spy network to gather intelligence, alongside bribing officials to ascertain the whereabouts of targets.^[8][9]

This installment introduces new gameplay features, including the ability to crawl along the ground in a prone position, providing the player characters with a lower profile and the capability to access small openings. The character can also venture into shallow water, where they then deploy a bamboo stick to breathe through.^[5][10] Eagle vision also makes a comeback, but unlike Assassin's Creed Mirage, it would not reveal the NPCs through the walls;^[11] as enemies are denoted in red, while allies are highlighted in orange. Moreover, a diverse selection of historically accurate weapons is showcased, ranging from katanas and the kanabō war club to yari spears, shuriken, kunai, and the kusarigama. Each weapon comes with its own skill tree, enabling players to improve their proficiency with specific weapons over time.^[5]

Players have the ability to switch between characters as they progress through different missions. Yasuke's combat features destructible environments and realistic weapon impacts, providing a cinematic fighting experience, in addition to using arquebuses, giving him a powerful long-range capability. Meanwhile, Naoe brandishes the iconic hidden blade with its pivot feature to serve as a tantō, as well as utilizing a kusarigama to fend off attackers, swinging its chain in wide arcs to create distance. Moreover, she employs stealth tactics with an agile and lethal playstyle, hiding in the rafters and ambushing enemies through Shoji paper doors.^[5]

Assassin's Creed Shadows is set in feudal Japan, specifically starting in 1579 during the Azuchi-Momoyama period. This era marks the final stage of the Sengoku period, a time of intense civil war in Japan. The game features the historical figure Oda Nobunaga at the height of his power following his victory over the Takeda clan using arquebus firearms. Key historical events include Nobunaga's assault on the Iga province in 1581, a significant battle involving the Iga ikki, known for their ninjutsu arts.^[12]

The game will explore central Japan, including regions like Kyoto, Kobe, Osaka, and the Iga province, with historically accurate castles such as Takeda and Fukuchiyama, along with detailed historical landmarks and strongholds designed as intricate dungeons.^[7] This setting promises a vibrant world of urbanization, bustling ports, samurai districts, and ornate architecture, all significant for parkour and exploration in the game. The influence of Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries, who introduced Christianity and new technologies like cannons and long guns, also plays a role in shaping the game's environment and narrative.^[12]

Shadows was announced at Ubisoft Forward in September 2022 under the working title Assassin's Creed: Codename Red along with its planned successor Assassin's Creed: Codename Hexe.^[13] There, Ubisoft announced that Assassin's Creed would be entering a third period related to shifts in design philosophy and approaches to future games, all connected by a working concept called Assassin's Creed Infinity.^[14] The first major gameplay details were announced on May 15, 2024, along with the final name and release date.^[15][16][17] It was also later revealed that Ubisoft Quebec who previously developed Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Assassin's Creed Syndicate would be developing the game.^[18] Development began in 2020, following the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla.^[11]

Upon the release of the video game's premiere trailer on May 15, 2024, the decision to feature Yasuke as a central character in the upcoming video game prompted criticism online.^[19] Critics on social media reacted negatively to the inclusion of a Black samurai protagonist instead of an indigenous Japanese one, accusing Ubisoft of going woke, or saying that Yasuke was "not a 'real' samurai."^[20][19] Others noted that Ubisoft has never made a game with a male East Asian protagonist.^[19] Some critics also attacked the option for LGBTQ relationships.^[20] YouTuber Tim Pool called it "pandering" to use Yasuke instead of a "real Japanese hero in a Japanese time period."^[20] Some fans of the series suggested that criticism of the black protagonist was motivated by racism.^[19] The online backlash led to harassment and threats directed at the game developers, Laurence Russell of Wired likened the backlash to the Gamergate harassment campaign and the alt-right.^[21][22]

Ubisoft has defended their position on their choices for Yasuke and Naoe in response to the negative feedback. Series' executive producer Marc-Alexis Côté said "while both Naoe and Yasuke's stories are works of historical fiction, they reflect the collision of different worlds, cultures and roles, and their inclusion is precisely the kind of narrative that Assassin's Creed seeks to tell, one that reflects the complexity and interconnectedness of our shared history."^[23] Côté also responded to Elon Musk's claim that Yasuke's inclusion was through DEI and detrimental to art, saying "What Elon says is not the game that we're building. People will have to play the game for themselves."^[24] Game director Charles Benoit said that Yasuke was chosen because players could discover Japan at the same time as Yasuke, "through his eyes, the eyes of a foreigner".^[25] Scholar Thomas Lockley defended Yasuke's portrayal as a samurai, and stated that no reputable Japanese historian had questioned Yasuke's samurai status.^[26] Japanese historian Yu Hirayama [ja], a specialist in the Sengoku period at the Japan University of Health Sciences, confirmed that Yasuke's status as a samurai who served Nobunaga is undeniable.^[22]

The game was initially scheduled to release for PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S, iPadOS, and macOS on November 15, 2024.^[27][28] However, in September 2024, Ubisoft announced that, despite the game being "feature complete," they opted to delay the release to February 14, 2025, for further polishing, citing "learnings" from the Star Wars Outlaws launch in August. The company also cancelled the game's season pass and refunded existing pre-orders, with future pre-orders set to include the first expansion for free. In a shift from Ubisoft's previous release practices, the PC version will launch simultaneously on Steam, Epic Games Store, and Ubisoft Connect.^[29][30][31]

Matt Kim of IGN praised the choice of Yasuke to differentiate itself from other samurai games featuring Asian protagonists.^[32]

Assassin's Creed Shadows was nominated for the Most Wanted Game at the Golden Joystick Awards 2024.^[33]

• Official website