Assassin's Creed: Shadows

He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow.

This article contains spoilers, meaning it has information and facts concerning Assassin's Creed: Shadows. If you do not want to know about these events, it is recommended to read on with caution, or not at all.

This template should be removed from the article 20 June 2025.

Assassin's Creed: Shadows^[1] is the fourteenth installment in the Assassin's Creed series, being a part of the Animus Hub platform. The game, helmed by Ubisoft Quebec,^[2] is set in feudal Japan and allow players to experience a "very powerful shinobi fantasy".^[3]

Taking place during the final decades of the Sengoku period, the game focuses on two distinct protagonists: the shinobi Fujibayashi Naoe and the samurai Yasuke. After starting out as enemies, the two become unlikely allies as they attempt to restore peace and stability to Japan amidst the chaos of the wars for unifaction, and rebuild the decimated Japanese Assassins.

Gameplay[]

RPG game mechanics[]

According to the series' Vice President Executive Producer Marc-Alexis Côté in September 2022, Shadows returns to the Action-RPG style game format,^[4] preferring to involve the players' choices in its story elements and several of its game mechanics rather than in a linear narrative experience as seen in the previous title, Assassin's Creed: Mirage (2023). Despite this, Creative Director Jonathan Dumont later confirmed in December 2024 that, after hearing feedback from the player base that was divided on whether to include branching dialogues, Shadows would have an optional "canon mode" which removes dialogue choices for a streamlined story.^[5]

Players are able to switch at will between Shadows' two protagonists, similar to what was demonstrated in Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (2015) with Jacob and Evie Frye. Shadows' first protagonist is the shinobi Fujibayashi Naoe, who is set on a path to avenge her murdered father Nagato. The second is the African samurai Yasuke, who survived an attack on the slave ship he was on and ended up in Oda Nobunaga's service.^[6] Naoe and Yasuke begin the game as enemies with unique abilities and eventually become allies.^[7]^[6]

With separate character archetypes, developers sought to restructure player progression using a more philosophical approach. Breaking from the established pattern of having just three skill trees from which to build a character's abilities, as seen in every series entry from Syndicate until Mirage, Shadows expands that to six trees, allowing for more player choice in what weapon(s) or playstyle(s) to dedicate themselves to and therefore deepen their mastery of. These are unlocked through points, which are earned not only by eliminating assassination targets identified in the target menu, but also by completing open-world quests or defeating elite soldiers. Both characters share equal level progression, ensuring that neither is left behind at the other's expense, and points can be reset and reallocated at any time.^[8]

Some of skills are locked behind both points and a knowledge rank. This is meant to symbolize the characters' mental readiness to learn such feats and is acquired through various non-violent world activities^[8] that provide insight into their characters. Naoe can find sites to focus her mind and reveal her past by performing kuji-kiri (九字切り) meditations, mantras with symbolic hand gestures associated with certain schools of Japanese Buddhism, while Yasuke can meet NPCs who will teach him new weapon kata (型 or 形) for combat^[8] or challenge him to mounted archery events. One collection that both can do is to create sumi-e (墨絵) paintings of Japan's local fauna.^[9] Furthermore, acquiring knowledge is not limited to what is required to unlock skills; once players reach the sixth and final tier, they will unlock a new tree for continual progression that offers new passive skills.^[8]

Romance is a feature present for both protagonists, something first introduced in Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (2018), and explores their differing personalities and unique interactions with NPCs. Yasuke and Naoe will attract and be attracted to different types of people, allowing players to experience diverse romantic relationships which will evolve over the course of the game's seasons.^[10]

Stealth and assassinations[]

Shadows introduces significant changes to its stealth mechanics that help the protagonists to reduce their visibility and noise. For the first time in the franchise, players are able to hide themselves in the shadows. These dynamic hiding spots^[11]—whether naturally created outside lanterns' light range and as the moon moves through the sky,^[12] or artificially induced by purposefully extinguishing torches^[13]—enable the protagonists to stealthily navigate enemy-guarded areas under the cover of night, advancing their mission undetected.^[11]

Enemies can now hear the protagonists' steps, especially when walking on nightingale floors; to minimize the noise and avoid detection, players can crouch or go prone and perform different moves to approach their targets, like rolling in all directions, crawling under buildings and closed spaces, or submerging in ponds.^[11]

Players can perform non-lethal knockouts after grabbing an enemy and execute assassinations whether their characters are standing, crouching, or prone. As Naoe, they can squeeze through tiny wall cracks, hide inside small storage spaces, and perform double-assassinations once the requirements are met. However, to successfully eliminate higher-level enemies, players must ensure their equipment is adequately upgraded. Without the necessary upgrades, enemies can quickly turn the tables by denying the assassination attempt.^[11]

Enemy behavior and archetypes[]

Enemies react to mistakes players might commit as infiltrating heavily guarded areas like castles and fortresses involves navigating different districts as individual sectors, allowing players to recover and re-engage if caught. Nevertheless, once detected, enemies will search the area in pairs and remain more suspicious, making tactics like whistling less effective. This increased suspicion impacts the ability to assassinate from hiding spots. Servants, a new non-lethal enemy archetype, alert guards and raise alarms despite being unable to fight. They have their own patrol routes and appear in orange when using Eagle Vision.^[11]

Samurai present unique challenges, as they have four different "classes"^[14] and are more likely to deny assassinations.^[11] First are the masterless samurai, or rōnin, who are regularly employed by Naoe and Yasuke's enemies. Though they appear disheveled, they will attack on sight if they believe the protagonists' deaths will let them cease their constant roaming the roads in search of contracts to gain a lord's favor.^[14]

Regular samurai are difficult to trick once alerted because they can slice bushes when searching and remove hiding spots^[11] and can deliver devastating counter-attacks against those caught unprepared,^[14] requiring players to adapt their strategies, though smoke bombs can be used to disperse samurai for a quick escape and options in the menu will allow players to instantly kill all enemies once struck,^[11] as well as turn off blood or violent kill animations;^[12] this latter option was added after the local ratings board Computer Entertainment Rating Organization announced concerns regarding excessive gore.^[15]

The samurai daisho are top-tier enemies found only in strongholds like castles. They make use of techniques not seen in other NPC soldiers and the presence of even a single one will present a challenge to players, especially as they often defend areas that contain valuable rewards. Last are the samurai Guardians, elite troops with men-yoroi facemasks and white-maned helmets who are only called as reinforcements if the castle alarm is raised.^[14]

Other enemy classes include outlaws, who make up for their poor fighting skills with numbers and unconventional tactics,^[14] and gun-wielding ashigaru,^[7] conscripted or volunteering foot-soldiers with only basic training who are aggressive towards Naoe and fearful of Yasuke.^[14] Enemy commanders can be defeated, spared, or recruited as spies, similar to Odyssey's mercenaries system.^[7]

Open-world exploration[]

Although the eagle companion is absent in this title, its abilities are still present. Naoe and Yasuke both have an ability called "Observe", which allows them to identify targets, tag enemies, and highlight collectables to loot and quest objectives, just like players can do in previous installments with the protagonists' eagle familiar. Additionally, Naoe has access to the classic Eagle Vision, which she can combine with the Observe ability for enhanced target identification and environmental awareness.^[11] While Yasuke can also Observe, his ability is not as refined as hers is.^[12] Dumont^[16] and Associate Game Director Simon Lemay-Comtois^[12] have compared the map size to that of Assassin's Creed: Origins (2017), in which players explored nearly all of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt.

When the world map was made, Game Director Charles Benoit did not want it cluttered with icons, instead preferring that players developed their own sense of discovery. Thus, synchronizing viewpoints no longer reveals as much of the world and its markers as in past games and instead will only reveal significant nearby locations like temples, castles, and city districts. While unlocking viewpoints still makes them Fast Travel points, some are deep in enemy territory and will be difficult to escape from. The wider regions and other points of interest are revealed through gathering information, whether from allied spies, NPC dialogue, or actively exploring the areas themselves. As players move through the world, the map will change from displaying only a few province names and sketches that hint at the location's nature, to sub-regions and individual landmarks such as ruined military camps or hidden shrines depending on the zoom level.^[9]

Each region has a number of kakurega (かくれが), hidden safehouses that operate as small extensions of the central "Hideout". Kakurega are also Fast Travel spots that are safer than some viewpoints because their sequestered nature requires them to be well outside enemy lands. Here, players can resupply rations or tools, change gear sets, accept contracts, and manage scouts, NPCs who will join the protagonists for only a season and aid in exploring the provinces for information or gradually smuggling wealthy families' stockpiles for the hideout's usage. The more scouts Naoe and Yasuke recruit or re-hire, the larger their search radius, the more accurate their findings, and the faster they can acquire resources to upgrade the hideout.^[9] Additionally, scouts can be used to reduce notoriety when provinces are on alert.^[9]

All locations can be found regardless the climate and whether playing as Naoe or Yasuke. In instances when the mountainous terrain is impassable to climb, a Pathfinder feature has been added. This plots the optimal route along roads as a white overlay on the ground from the players' location to custom-marked destinations or mission objectives. Missions themselves can be tracked in the updated target menu which tracks clues from investigation opportunities targeting NPCs and potentially undiscovered regions.^[9] Mounts and their various cosmetic skins will return,^[8] with one of them expected to be a dragon made of fire.^[12]

The updated and rebranded Ubisoft Anvil introduces a dynamic season system where the world transitions through the four seasons, driven by the player's campaign progress for historical accuracy. Each season affects gameplay uniquely: spring and summer feature blooming plants providing hiding spots that will fade in autumn and are absent in winter, which instead brings ice, blocking access to pools and ponds but has icicles that can fall and attract enemies or reveal the player's position.^[11] NPC behavior changes with the seasons, with enemies searching bushes in summer and staying near fires in winter, creating new pathways.^[17] A dynamic weather system^[9] brings climate conditions like fog, wind, and snow, affecting enemy perception and masking player movements. Additionally, the game's ecology is detailed, with features like pollen gusts in spring simulating a real ecosystem.^[17] Even with changing seasons and terrain, all locations can be found regardless the climate and whether playing as Naoe or Yasuke.^[9]

The hideout[]

Players' base of operations is a secluded hideout built in a forgotten valley of Izumi Settsu province. Protected on all sides with steep hills, the abandoned location can only be accessed via a narrow rock path and is tended to by its caretaker, Tomiko. Expanding on the settlement decoration system introduced in Valhalla for the Norse colony of Ravensthorpe, this 1-acre-large plot of land is entirely customizable, allowing players to place not just cosmetic touches but entire buildings, paths, and flora and fauna where they want.^[18]

Players can access it after completing the prologue and meeting Tomiko. Building the hideout to some degree is required to progress through the main story, as its various buildings will allow for gear and ability upgrades necessary for later missions. To build any structure, players will need to gather^[18] or have smuggled in^[9] the required amounts of wood, minerals, and crops, before paying for construction services with mon.^[18]

Many decorations are quest completion rewards while others are in merchants' stock to buy or kept in treasure chests. All of them are sorted into type subcategories and can be placed, rotated, moved, and removed on the hideout's grid layout so long as a tile is empty. While the hideout can be arranged to players' likings, the sole exception to this is Tomiko's hiroma (広間), which will have already been established upon unlocking the base and is the anchor around which everything is built. It acts as a quick access hub for the area's important features and can display cosmetic changes but cannot be moved.^[18]

The base's other main buildings include: stables, from where smuggling scouts are assigned; a blacksmith's forge, to salvage and upgrade armor and gear; a central kakurega, to store supplies and acquire other safehouses in the country; a study, to facilitate investigations; and a dōjō (道場), to train recruited allies that can be called on during combat. The optional, thematic places have their own benefits and are as follows: a Buddhist tera (寺) that provides a +10% world experience boost; a Shinto shrine (jinja, 神社) that gives a temporary boon for a few minutes and boosts the effects of any open-world shrines; a nando (なんど), a joint barracks and storehouse to recall scouts for cheaper cost; a zashiki (座敷), a sake (酒) room that increases health regeneration; and a chashitsu (茶室), a tea room for the chadō ceremony (茶道) that increases ration efficiency and compliments the zashiki bonus.^[18]

Each room can have its own individual floor and wall designs, and can display certain trophies or collections like the sumi-e paintings, which will also let players add the documented animals as semi-domesticated creatures for Naoe and Yasuke to pet. This includes, but is not limited to, grey herons, sika deer, foxes, and tanuki (狸), but also cats and dogs. Besides animals, the protagonists can also have conversations with their recruited allies who—like the residents of Ravensthorpe or the Davenport Homestead in Assassin's Creed III (2012)—live, train, and rest in the hideout, each with their own backstories and personal challenges.^[18]

Parkour[]

Closely tied to the open-world, the parkour system allows Naoe and Yasuke to traverse crowded Kyoto's rooftops, navigate hidden pathways in nature that require tree- and rock-climbing, and infiltrate and fully explore multiple vast castle grounds, which will include watchtowers, barracks, and their tallest towers called tenshu (天守). Mechanically, it has been enhanced to allow for new animations, prone movement, and the implementing of a grappling hook with a physics engine.^[19] In a Sports Illustrated interview, Lemay-Comtois^[12] explained that previous games' dodge mechanics were merged into the parkour commands, allowing players to use new inputs whether standing, crouching, or prone without fear of accidentally dropping off rooftop edges.^[19]

As a lightly-armored shinobi, Naoe can jump further and reach higher than Yasuke, who is impeded by his heavy plate armor^[19] and so requires environment aids like crates to reach lower handholds.^[12] As a result, he is generally slower and much louder when climbing. NPCs consider parkour a high-profile activity for its stunt acts and the sounds made when jumping off and landing on buildings, so players must plan Naoe's approaches carefully in guarded areas lest they be detected. When descending buildings, players can parkour down as in previous games or can use a directional dodge to perform acrobatic flips.^[19]

Naoe's agility lets her sprint and do dive-rolls over small objects in her path like crates and windowsills but can lead to injury if done from higher elevations without a roll to recover her footing. Yasuke can also pass over over small objects, though with less grace than Naoe, but where she would be stopped by larger objects, he can sprint and shoulder bash through them.^[19]

A new tool in parkour is the grappling hook. Operating similar to the rope dart's traversal mechanics as first depicted in the side-scrolling platformer Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China (2015), the hook can be used to aid Naoe in vertical ascents or arcing runs along unclimbable walls. She can also use it to swing across natural and man-made gaps too wide to leap across, with some places requiring her to swing out, remove the tool from its mooring at the swing arc's furthest limit, and relaunch it again while falling for continual swings.^[19]

Gear and combat[]

Gadgets and tools present in the game include the kunai, shuriken, smoke bombs, and bells.^[17] Weapons range from katana, kusarigama, and the tantō for Naoe, to ōdachi, naginata, kanabō war clubs, yari, and yumi bows for Yasuke.^[14] Some weapons and gadgets are limited to each character; for instance, only Yasuke can use tanegashima rifles.^[14] Each weapon has its own skill tree, allowing players to enhance their proficiency with specific weapons over time.^[14]^[8]

Although the characters can wield a number of weapons, players can only equip any two at a time. They must also consider the rest of their inventory—a headpiece, armor, and an amulet—as it will have items of different levels, qualities, and stats. Ideally, players should have gear that matches or surpasses enemy stats in order to defeat them in combat or bypass their resistance to assassination attempts. There are five levels of gear quality dispersed throughout the world: Common, which is the starting gear with basic stats; Uncommon, improved gear with a park; Rare, stronger gear that may allow for an engraved second perk; Epic, which has a chance to boost a core stat; and Legendary, which has custom stats, a gameplay perk, and an engraving slot. All gear and armor can be reskinned using a transmogrification feature, displayed in the hideout's Gallery, and saved as an entire configuration for use in specific scenarios.^[8]

Perks are passive stat boosts that can enhance gear and influence conditions inflicted on enemies. Like decorations, they can be bought from merchants and looted from chests, but also dropped when the protagonists kills their targets. Legendary-tier perks, found only on Legendary gear, affect game mechanics instead of just stat boosting. All perks can be collected and put to use in the hideout's forge, allowing players to customize their weapons with their playstyle. Putting certain perks with the right skills and weapons, Yasuke and Naoe switch from their expected archetypes to a stealthy samurai and a combat-oriented shinobi.^[8]

The combat system has been reworked to focus on timing different attack styles against opponents. Both Naoe and Yasuke can employ quick, low-damage light attacks and slower, high-damage heavy attacks, or can charge either of them for unique posture attacks. When timed correctly, posture attacks will deliver significantly stronger blows that can break an enemy's block stance and leave them vulnerable. However, enemies will attempt to prevent players from utilizing this with a flurry of counterattacks and can even use it themselves, forcing players to adapt their attack patterns to survive.^[14]

Because medieval Japanese warfare did not rely heavily on shields like those seen in Origins, Odyssey, or Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (2020),^[17] players must defend themselves through positioning or direct weapon blocks. Naoe and Yasuke can dodge, each with their own style. Naoe's lack of plate armor means she can perform directional rolls while Yasuke can sidestep with a cool-down time but still remain ready to fight. If there is insufficient room to dodge, players can try to parry or deflect attacks. Naoe will pivot away from enemies, diverting their lines of attack to expose their flanks, but this constant movement can end with her surrounded if players are not careful.^[14]

In contrast, Yasuke parries in a straight line, slightly knocking back stunned opponents and leaving them open to counterattacks. Unique to Yasuke is the block function, where he can duck behind his equipped weapon to temporarily withstand kunai and arrows but is still susceptible to enemies' charged "unstoppable" attacks. While both Yasule and Naoe can dual-wield, he is the only one who can weapon swap while performing attack combinations and can prepare a posture attack even when his katana is sheathed.^[14]

Synopsis[]

A new creed rises
Live the intertwined stories of Naoe, an adept shinobi Assassin from Iga Province, and Yasuke, the powerful African samurai of historical legend. Against the backdrop of the turbulent late Sengoku period, this remarkable duo will discover their common destiny as they usher in a new era for Japan.

Explore feudal Japan
Discover the captivating open world of feudal Japan, from spectacular castle towns and bustling ports to peaceful shrines and pastoral landscapes. Adventure through unpredictable weather, changing seasons, and reactive environments.

Become a shinobi assassin
As the quick-witted and agile Naoe, use noise, light, and shadows to evade detection as enemies respond to their changing surroundings. Distract guards using kunai, shuriken, and smoke bombs, infiltrate enemy bases with your grappling hook and parkour skills, and assassinate your targets with the hidden blade.

Become a legendary samurai
As the charismatic samurai Yasuke, strike your foes with brutal precision and power. Use his combat-oriented skills to attack, block, parry, and defeat your enemies. Master the vast arsenal of weapons at your disposal—featuring katana, kanabo, bows, naginata, and more—to free Japan from its oppressors.

Information is your weapon
Travel the world, explore, and scout your surroundings to gather vital intel. Build your network of spies to be your eyes and ears across locations to unveil new areas and hunt down your next target. Along the way, recruit several allies with highly specialized skills and abilities to help accomplish your missions.^[20]

Development[]

The idea of an Assassin's Creed game set in medieval Japan has been a concept that Ubisoft has long contended with and been reluctant to implement. Back in April 2012, Assassin's Creed III's Creative Director Alex Hutchinson said feudal Japan was still a popular request from fans at the time but was regularly discounted on the grounds that it was considered "boring" and unoriginal.^[21] This informal policy stuck for many years: excluding a handful of supplementary "Surveillance" entries set in present day Tokyo for the 2012 community site Assassin's Creed: Initiates and just six historical missions from the defunct 2015 digital card game Assassin's Creed: Memories, Japan itself is largely absent in Assassin's Creed media even though the Japanese Assassin Kiyoshi Takakura who was first introduced in Initiates has since featured prominently in Titan Comics' series Assassin's Creed: Assassins (2014) and Assassin's Creed: Uprising (2017).

Despite this blacklisting, Lemay-Comtois said development on Shadows began just over a decade later when a new creative team successfully pushed for Japan to feature in a series main entry, adding that the graphics to fully render the country did not exist on the PlayStation 4, much less the systems for the series' first entries. Some of its stealth elements, like Naoe's ability to hide near ceilings, took inspiration inspiration from Chaos Theory, the third entry in Ubisoft's Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series.^[12] As they have done with all entries they worked on, the Ubisoft Quebec team consulted original documents and historians on topics ranging from architecture to cultural elements, like protocols for the tea ceremony and tatami (畳) mat arrangements, in order to portray as authentic a period world as possible. This was accentuated by the team's trips to Japan to understand the geography and connect with their Ubisoft Tokyo and Osaka teams who also helped create Shadows^[10] before the latter studio closed in February 2025 following a corporate decision to shut down Osaka's project XDefiant due to insufficient player enrollment or spending.^[22]

The game's conceptual title, known as Assassin's Creed: Codename Red during development, was first leaked on 6 September 2022 and reported by Bloomberg, who also noted that this game, as well as Assassin's Creed: Codename Hexe, would likely not release until 2024 at the earliest.^[2] It was later confirmed at the Ubisoft Forward livestream during its Assassin's Creed showcase, alongside a short teaser.^[4] On 21 October 2023, a little over a year after the working title leaked, script writer Pierre Boudreau changed his LinkedIn profile's banner image to a picture of a hooded woman on a red background with Animus coding on the edges and a white Assassin insignia stylized as if it were painted by inkbrush.^[23] On 13 May 2024, Ubisoft officially confirmed the entry's title as Assassin's Creed: Shadows^[24] after a leak revealed it three weeks prior.^[25]

On 25 September, almost two months before Shadows' expected debut on 15 November, developers released a statement on the Assassin's Creed Twitter account announcing that they would be delaying its release until 14 February 2025.^[26] Although the statement did not elaborate on why the team felt they needed to postpone the game, a company press release for investors cited "the softer than expected launch" of their Swedish studio Massive Entertainment's project Star Wars Outlaws.^[27]^[28] Reportedly, developers had been pushing for a delay for a few months before Ubisoft's announcement.^[29] On 9 January, with just over a month to the 14 February release, Ubisoft announced another delay, this time to 20 March 2025.^[30] As before, another press release blamed low sales of Star Wars Outlaws, as well as much lost revenue from first discontinuing XDefiant and then closing "three production studios in high-cost geographies",^[31] obliquely referencing the shuttering of their San Francisco and Osaka studios^[22] and the ramping down of their Sydney, Australia location.^[32] In a statement, CEO Yves Guillemot said, "[The company] 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".^[31]

Controversies[]

Sexual misconduct allegations[]

When Jonathan Dumont was announced to be working on the game in September 2022, many Ubisoft employees refused to work with him and quit due to past allegations regarding abuse and sexual misconduct. Ubisoft responded by stating that it takes allegations seriously and that Dumont has been disciplined and cleared to continue working.^[33]

Shinto desecration[]

The in-game destruction of Itatehyozu Shrine was a point of controversy within the Japanese government. In March 2025, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba called for talks with several other top government officials to discuss the best way to deal with potential responses. Hiroyuki Kada of Japan's House of Councilors questioned Ishiba as to whether the in-game event would encourage real-life acts of vandalism and destruction against shrines in Japan.^[34]

Yasuke[]

After Shadows was officially revealed in mid-May 2024, disgruntled fans took to Yasuke's Wikipedia page and vandalized it several times, angry over Ubisoft's perceived disregard for Asian representation in a Japanese setting.^[35] On social media, many criticized Ubisoft for having a Black samurai protagonist, mistaking his title of "retainer" to mean that he was not a proper samurai, while others also levied accusations against the company for seemingly over-correcting for Black representation due to systemic racism in North America having resulted in anti-Black media bias.^[36] In late June, Guillemot issued a statement condemning the backlash directed at both protagonists, calling it "malicious" and "hateful."^[37]

However, with criticisms still persisting a month later, the development team issued a statement on 23 July directed at the Japanese community. In it, they reiterated that Shadows—and the series as a whole—was a work of fiction meant to inspire curiosity in history rather than being perfectly accurate representations of it and its figures, apologized for inadvertently upsetting Japanese fans with certain promotional materials, stated that experts consulted throughout the game's development were not responsible for the creative team's decisions and so should be exempt from criticism, and re-clarified that the team believed Yasuke's nebulous history with few recorded details that were open to interpretation made him a perfect candidate to explore a hypothetical life with creative license.^[38]

Release[]

Assassin's Creed: Shadows released worldwide on 20 March 2025, on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. The game was originally supposed to release on 15 November 2024 but got delayed on 25 September 2024.^[26] The game would later get delayed for a second time on 9 January 2025.^[30]

Marketing[]

On 11 September 2022, the reveal trailer aired during a Ubisoft Forward event.^[4] After the official world premiere trailer released on 15 May 2024,^[24] the actors Masumi Tsunoda and Tongayi Chirisa posted on their Instagram accounts that they would be voicing Naoe^[39] and Yasuke,^[40] respectively. At the same time, the "Who Are Naoe and Yasuke?" trailer debuted, featuring an analysis of the premiere trailer with commentary from Game Director Charles Benoit and Associate Narrative Director Brooke Davies.^[41] Following this, Ubisoft posted a cipher across its social media channels and on its website that, when put together and solved,^[42] revealed a rough outline of the Kansai region when plotted onto a Cartesian coordinate system.^[43] On 3 June, an interactive bot was activated on the official Assassin's Creed Discord called "Assassin's Creed Shadows – The First Mission". A mystery puzzle box was also sent to several notable content creators that, when solved using the Discord bot, revealed concept art and details on the game's map.^[44] The first gameplay trailer was unveiled at the 2024 Xbox Showcase held on 9 June,^[45] and the Story Trailer aired on 23 June.^[46]

On 23 January 2025, Ubisoft Japan announced in a tweet that the actor and singer Tamaki Hiroshi would voice Nobunaga in the Japanese localization^[47] and had recently conducted an exclusive 3-minute interview with developers.^[48] Two weeks later, the actor Mackenyu was announced to be the English and Japanese voice for Gennojo,^[49] a shinobi that players could recruit to facilitate their mission progression.^[50]

Editions[]

Ubisoft announced several alternate editions to the standard retail version. However, because of the game's release being delayed from the initially intended November 2024, the development team decided to cancel the Season Pass.^[51]

JB Hi-Fi exclusive

Base game
Naooe Sekiryu Character Pack
Thrown to the Dogs (Pre-Order Bonus)

EB Games exclusive

Base game
Yasuke Sekiryu Character Pack
Thrown to the Dogs (Pre-Order Bonus)

Base game
Season pass
Thrown to the Dogs (Pre-Order Bonus)

JB Hi-Fi exclusive

Base game
Season pass
Thrown to the Dogs (Pre-Order Bonus)
JB Hi-Fi exclusive SteelBook case
Two sumi-e lithographs (13.5x19 cm / 5.3x7.5 in.)

Base game
Season pass
Ultimate Pack
- Sekiryu Character Pack
- Sekiryu Hideout Pack
Thrown to the Dogs (Pre-Order Bonus)
- 5 Skill points
Red Dragon Photo Mode filter.

AC Shadows Collectors Edition — Collector's Edition contents

Base game.

Season pass
Ultimate Pack
- Sekiryu Character Pack
- Hideout Pack
- 5 Skill points
Red Dragon Photo Mode filter.
Naoe and Yasuke dual character statue (about 40 cm / 15.7 in.)
Unique SteelBook case.
Collector's art book (84 pages).
Naoe's katana tsuba (life-sized).
World map.
Creed wall scroll (70x30 cm / 27.6x11.8 in.)
Two sumi-e lithographs (13.5x19 cm / 5.3x7.5 in.)

Gallery[]

Assassin's Creed Codename Red - Reveal Trailer - Ubisoft Forward 2022

Assassin's Creed Shadows- Official World Premiere Trailer

Assassin's Creed Shadows- Who Are Naoe and Yasuke?

Assassin's Creed Shadows Explained - Samurai, Shinobi, and Feudal Japan

Assassin's Creed Shadows- First Look Gameplay Trailer

-ESRB- Assassin's Creed Shadows Official Gameplay - Combat and Stealth Evolved - Ubisoft Forward

Assassin's Creed Shadows- One Duo - Two Playstyles

Assassin's Creed Shadows- World Trailer

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Stealth Deep Dive- Observe

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Stealth Deep Dive- Eagle Vision

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Stealth Deep Dive- Nightingale Floors

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Stealth Deep Dive- Prone Assassination

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Stealth Deep Dive- Smoke Bomb

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Stealth Deep Dive- Denied Assassinations

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Stealth Deep Dive- Yasuke Bow

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Combat Deep Dive- Chaining Posture Attacks

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Combat Deep Dive- Block vs. Deflecting

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Combat Deep Dive- Naginata Crescent Strike

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Combat Deep Dive- Sheathed Posture Attack

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Combat Deep Dive- Katana Combat

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Combat Deep Dive- Kusarigama Combat

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Combat Deep Dive- Tanto and Hidden Blade

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Combat Deep Dive- Katana Duel

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Combat Deep Dive- Enemy Flurry and Unstoppable Attacks

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Parkour Deep Dive- Parkour Up & Recovery Roll

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Parkour Deep Dive- Dodge to Drop Down

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Parkour Deep Dive- Sprint Dodge to Escape

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Parkour Deep Dive- Grappling Hook Swing

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Parkour Deep Dive- Wall Run to Grappling Hook

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Parkour Deep Dive- Backward Drop Assassination

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Parkour Deep Dive- Backward Roll and Safety Drop

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Exploration- World Map

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Exploration- Synchronization

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Exploration- Vantage Point

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Exploration- Pathfinder

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Exploration- Target Board

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Exploration- Scouts

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Exploration- Smuggling

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Exploration- Sumi-e

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Progression- Passive Ability

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Progression- Tanto Ability

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Progression- Increase Knowledge

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Progression- Gear Quality

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Progression- Weapon Customization

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Progression- Air Assassination

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Progression- Naoe Combat Build

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Progression- Yasuke Stealth Build

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Progression- Daze Affliction

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Hideout- Entering the Hideout

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Hideout- Layout Examples

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Hideout- Placing Buildings

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Hideout- Connecting Buildings

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Hideout- Interior Customization

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Hideout- Adding Pets

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Hideout- Life in the Hideout

Assassin's Creed Shadows- Story Trailer

Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe Anime Short

Assassin's Creed Shadows Yasuke Anime Short

Assassin's Creed Shadows- Dual Paths - Naoe & Yasuke Walkthrough

Assassin's Creed Shadows- Digital Deluxe Edition

Assassin's Creed Shadows- PC & New-Gen Features Trailer

Assassin's Creed Shadows- Launch Cinematic TV Ad

Assassin’s Creed Shadows - Launch Showcase Livestream

Assassin's Creed Shadows- Steam Trailer

Assassin’s Creed Shadows- Devs Share Their Favorite Features

Assassin’s Creed Shadows- What You Need to Know About its Feudal Japan Setting

Assassin’s Creed Shadows- Meet the Actors Behind Naoe and Yasuke

Assassin’s Creed Shadows - Shadow Warriors (Feat. @Taro Kobayashi) Tokusatsu Tribute

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Master Stealth Guide

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Ultimate Combat Guide

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Full Open World Guide

Assassin's Creed Shadows- Launch Trailer

Credits[]

By type

Cast

Crew