Assassin's Creed Shadows is officially on the way, and it's set to take us to the most anticipated setting in the series so far: Feudal Japan. Formerly known as Assassin's Creed Codeame Red, a cinematic reveal trailer came just after Ubisoft confirmed the official title, and we've since seen much more of next big flagship stealthy entry.
The upcoming open-world RPG will see us play as dual protagonists Naoe and Yasuke, who both have different strengths and combat styles. Interestingly, news also confirmed Assassin's Creed Shadows will feature a "Canon mode" that makes choices for you, its expected to be between 30 and 60 hours long, and aims to try to restore the balance between the historical and modern stories of the series.
As one of the biggest new games for 2025, Shadows is also among a list of upcoming Assassin's Creed games on the horizon - we also have the likes of Assassin's Creed Hexe and Assassin's Creed Infinity to look out for. It's certainly an exciting time for fans of the series.
Read on below to find a full recap of everything we know so far about Assassin's Creed Shadows.
Recent updates
Our Assassin's Creed Shadows guide was updated on December 12, adding new information about romance and combat.
What is Assassin's Creed Shadows?
Assassin's Creed Shadows is the official name of Assassin's Creed Red: the next major RPG game in the franchise from Ubisoft Quebec, following the success of 2020's Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Developer Marc-Alexis Cote, who has served as both creative director and producer on some of the best Assassin's Creed games, described Shadows as Ubisoft's "next premium flagship title" before teasing that it will be "the future of our open-world RPG games on Assassin's Creed."
Assassin's Creed Shadows release date
The Assassin's Creed Shadows release date is set for February 14, 2025. Originally, the game was set to come out on November 15, 2024. However, the team working on the upcoming game announced the decision to delay the project.
A statement about the delay was posted on September 25, 2024, which you can read for yourself below. In the post, the team also clarified that refunds will be issued to everyone who preordered the game and that the game will now be released across multiple platforms, including PC via Steam.
"We understand this decision will come as disappointing news, especially to those who've been waiting patiently for an Assassin's Creed game inspired by Feudal Japan, but we sincerely believe this is in the best interest of the game, and ultimately your experience as a player," the statement below reads.
Assassin's Creed Shadows will now release February 14, 2025. pic.twitter.com/J2ah7kkytWSeptember 25, 2024
Assassin's Creed Shadows platforms
Assassin's Creed Shadows will launch on PC, PS5, PS4, and Xbox Series X only, according to Ubisoft Store listing data (via Wario64 on Twitter). That means that Xbox One and Nintendo Switch players will be unfortunately out of luck. Apple has also confirmed that it will release on Mac at the same time.
Assassin's Creed Shadows pre-order
Assassin's Creed Shadows pre-orders are still techincally live, despite the game's release date being delayed to 2025. However, we wouldn't recommend purchasing the game just yet, as the Assassin's Creed Shadows team have stated that they are currently dishing out refunds to all the pre-orders that have taken place already.
Pre-orders at the same price will likely be available again soon, though, and can be purchased via Ubisoft or your platform of choice. On PC, AC Shadows' standard edition will set you back £59.99 / $59.99, while the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions cost £69.99 / $69.99.
The gold edition clocks in at £94.99 / $109.99. The £114.99 / $129.99 ultimate edition has all of the above as well as the Ultimate Pack, encompassing:
- "The Sekiryu Character Pack including gear and weapon sets for both Naoe and Yasuke, the Sekiryu Beast, and Dragon Tooth trinket.
- The Sekiryu Hideout Pack including four unique ornaments to customize the hideout for your shinobi league.
- Five skill points.
- The Red Dragon filter in Photo mode."
Finally, the Assassin's Creed Shadows collector's edition gives you the ultimate version of the game as well as a belter haul of physical media and collectibles, including statues of Yasuke and Naoe, an art book, world map, lithographs, and more.
The PS5 and Xbox Series X versions will include hard copies of the game discs, while the PC version contains a digital download code. You can purchase the AC Shadows collector's edition from places like Game in the UK, or GameStop in the US.
Assassin's Creed Shadows trailer
The Assassin's Creed Shadows trailer above was unveiled on May 15 2024, giving us our first proper look at the setting, characters, and lore of its world. The trailer introduces us to Yasuke and Naoe, a samurai and shinobi respectively, who will serve as our dual-protagonists in this story that wants to deliver the power fantasies of two very different Azuchi-Momoyama era warriors.
From the trailer, we can glean that Yasuke's playstyle favors the slick arts of the samurai, while Naoe's quiet, deft work in the shadows more closely resembles the AC series' stealthy origins. With Assassin's Creed Mirage having delivered a taste of this in 2023, it's clear that Ubisoft is trying to strike a balance between old and new Assassin's Creed by giving the player the chance to utilize both combat styles in one game. We see evidence of this aplenty in the above trailer - and also, will Ezio's theme ever not give us chills?
Assassin's Creed Shadows characters
The rumors werte true: Assassin's Creed Shadows will feature two playable characters in the form of Yasuke, the first-ever Black samurai, and a ninja-like female Shinobi named Naoe. It looks like you'll be given the choice between characters before a lot of main missions, and your favorite character will largely be dictated by your favored playstyle.
With both characters sharing the stage as leading actors, we will be able to make use of each of their unique combat skills. Yasuke will be the heavy-hitter as a samurai, while Naoe is our more classic AC-style assassin given her quiet and stealthy ninja ways. Ubisoft has described Naoe as a "farmer warrior," taking on "the role of protector" in the game as she fights to defend her province of Iga. Her storyline looks set to revolve around political upheaval, invasion, and the fight for survival against insurmountable odds.
Yasuke, on the other hand, is of the Oda clan, led by prolific Japanese unification figurehead Oda Nobunaga. Having impressed Oda with his large stature, welcoming of Japanaese culture, and strong sword-arm, Yasuke is widely considered the first ever Black samurai in Japanese history.
Assassin's Creed Shadows setting
Assassin's Creed Shadows is set in Feudal Japan, more specifically, during the Azuchi-Momoyama era. We also know that its Assassin's Creed Origins-sized map has been made "more realistic" in terms of mountain scale, meaning we will be exploring a rich historical fantasy that is built to feel weighty and true to life. That also goes for the physics-based grappling hook sported by Naoe, which is sure to give her a leg-up when it comes to traversal. Think of AC Syndicate's Evie, only better.
The franchise has explored no fewer than 10 different locations around the world since the series made its debut 15 years ago, but it has never ventured into Japan – until now that is. Marc-Alexis Cote originally said that Assassin's Creed Shadow's historically-steeped context will "let players explore one of their most-awaited settings ever," giving us the chance to "live a very powerful Shinobi fantasy."
Assassin's Creed Shadows gameplay
Assassin's Creed Shadows will be changing things up in terms of expected AC gameplay, combining heavy attack-style combat opportunities through Yasuke's samurai gameplay and more stealth-centric sneaky work when playing as Naoe. Players will get to swap between the characters to explore the world and engage in missions, similar to how things worked in Assassin's Creed Syndicate.
In terms of the classic tower and map unlock mechanic, AC Shadows will see players using towers slightly differently. Even after activating an eagle point, you won't be able to access all POIs immediate. Instead, highlighted areas will appear on your map for you to investigate, potentially as in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Origins, and Odyssey respectively, to encourage player exploration across its sprawling open world.
The extended gameplay reveal shown at Ubisoft Forward 2024, embedded above, gives us a closer look at the dynamically different ways Yasuke and Naoe move and engage in combat. Yasuke makes an impression with his studded baseball bat-like kanabo, the weapon of the Oni in Japanese folklore, which he uses to deliver slow heavy attacks. He cans swap to the trusty katana to deal more rapid hack and slack melee attacks. Being such a big guy, Yasuke is not your guy if you're opting for stealth. Enter Naoe, our resident shinobi and living shadow extraordinaire.
Naoe's gameplay looks wildly different to Yasuke's favoring the quick and quiet approach with the help of the retractable Hidden Blade on her wrist. With the help of her grappling hook, she can traverse over suspended distances with acrobatic ease, adding an intriguing level of verticality by way of AC Shadows' implementation of realistic physics to deliver a movement experience that feels authentically light, lithe, and fluid. She can even hide underwater to sneak up on her foes, and have you seen that neat little forward-roll after dispatching an unassuming victim? She is the Assassin's Creed dream.
Assassin's Creed Shadows will also feature a dynamic weather system with changing seasons that directly affect our missions. With the ability to use lighting to our advantage, different weather conditions will also present us with opportunities we can take advantage of - such as timing our movement with cracks of thunder to move around undetected.
In a blog post, director Charles Benoit went into detail about the combat, revealing that core mechanics of both protagonists are the same, but some enemies will be more aggressive towards Naoe and fearful of Yasuke.
Assassin's Creed Shadows romance
In a Reddit AMA, associate narrative director Brooke Davies explained that Assassin's Creed Shadows will explore different themes, including the idea of the found family. As Naoe and Yaskue, we'll be able to recruit others who we can bond with and connect with either as friends or romantically. It sounds as though it'll be quite similar in the romance department as Assassin's Creed Odyssey, which let us meet several potential paramours.
Assassin's Creed Shadows development
Assassin's Creed Shadows started out as Assassin's Creed Codename Red when Ubisoft announced it alongside a litany of other AC games back in 2022. Developer Ubisoft Quebec cut its teeth creating expansions for Assassin's Creed 3 and Assassin's Creed: Black Flag, impressing the powers that be enough that it became the first studio outside of series creator Ubisoft Montreal to be handed the reins of a mainline instalment. Ubisoft Quebec went on to lead development of 2015's Assassin's Creed Syndicate and 2018's Assassin's Creed Odyssey.
For more new releases, check out our guide on all the upcoming PS5 games and upcoming Xbox Series X games.
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