Players will experience the intertwined stories of Naoe, an adept shinobi Assassin from the Iga Province, and Yasuke, the powerful samurai of historical legend. Discover their personal stories, meet pivotal historical figures, and shape the duo’s common destiny as they usher in a new era for Japan.  

As Naoe and Yasuke, players can master two complementary playstyles, with each character featuring their own progression paths, skills, weapon options, and stats. Whether they embrace Naoe’s stealth skills or Yasuke’s combat prowess, players will have plenty of ways to approach objectives. With Naoe, they will experience refined infiltration mechanics using light, noise, shadows, and changing surroundings to avoid detection from enemies. With Yasuke, they will be able to take on larger groups of enemies with brutal precision. 

The game will let players explore a vast open world with a variety of landscapes evolving through weather and seasons. From spectacular castle towns and bustling ports to peaceful shrines and pastoral landscapes, feudal Japan comes to life with unprecedented dynamism built from the ground up with the latest version of Anvil engine and the power of new-gen consoles.  

In this troubled period, information is key and will be at the heart of the renewed exploration mechanics. Players will build their own spies’ network to unveil new areas and hunt down targets. Allies with highly specialized skills and abilities can also be recruited to help during missions. The creation of their own customizable hideout will enable players to enhance their network and train their new crew. From base building and layout to decorations and accessories, they will be able to craft a unique place to call home. 

Ubisoft announced what's to come in Assassin's Creed Shadows' summer update. Prepare to embark on a new adventure and reclaim lost treasure in Claws of Awaji, re-experience Assassin's Creed Shadows with New Game+, and enjoy more quality-of-life updates. 

Here's the juicy bits you need to know coming to Assassin's Creed Shadows in the next months.

First, thank you for your amazing reactions to our latest title updates. We're happy that you liked our special collaborations with Dead by Daylight and the addition of Critical Role's Rufino as an ally for your hideout, as well as the Parkour Updates, Photo-mode improvements, and of course, our brand-new Nightmare difficulty setting!

And speaking of Photomode, congrats to the winners of our recent photo contest from our official Discord server! Check out the winning entries at the end of this article and the full winners' gallery here.

This summer, it's all about progression. Remember these words: New. Game. Plus.

NEW GAME+

Coming July 29, New Game+ will be available as soon as you complete the final story mission and credits have rolled: opting in will reset your Story and objective board progression as well as discovered locations - but your character level, your acquired gear, skill points, Knowledge rank and your precious Hideout progression will remain untouched.

When launching New Game+, you can choose to start again from the very beginning, reliving the important events of the Tensho War in Iga - or you can fast-forward after the prologue to the moment Naoe inherits ownership of the Hideout. Either way, we made sure that none of the basic tutorials will bother you on your second playthrough.

PROGRESSION UPDATE

We're increasing the level cap from 60 to 80 for all players - whether you're playing in NG+ or not - and introducing brand new Knowledge Ranks, new Mastery and Knowledge Skill ranks, and new upgrades for all Hideout buildings - including new upgrades for Heiji's Forge. One upgrade coming with New Game+ and one coming with our later Summer update.

July 29 is also when you can expect Project 3 to appear: there will be new resources, data files, and exclusive Animus-themed rewards for you to collect. Remember, if you're still working on the first two projects, you can either finish them up or swap to the new Project. There's no time pressure.

QUALITY-OF-LIFE IMPROVEMENT UPDATE

We're also thrilled to share an additional update is on the way, scheduled for the beginning of September, and packed with some of the most requested features from our community requests since launch. This update will come before the Claws of Awaji expansion and, of course, be free for all players with just a download.

This update will include:

• The world map unfogging after completing viewpoint synchronization (per region).

• The ability to skip time-of-day, jumping ahead to dusk or dawn.

• A new Forge upgrade level to reach Mythic (from Epic) and Artifact (from Legendary) equipment rarities.

• Hideout Updates and Upgrades.

• Uncapped framerate for cutscenes (PC only).

• Additional goodies that may be familiar to long-time series fans.

• Further bug fixes and stability improvements.

We'll share more details of this update in the coming weeks but know we're always looking out for your feedback - with the team working hard to deliver on the requests and suggestions to share!

CLAWS OF AWAJI

And it is also time for us to announce the release date for Claws of Awaji. Mark your calendars: Claws of Awaji will drop on September 16! If you pre-ordered Assassin’s Creed Shadows, you’ll be able to play it for free!

Keep in mind, Claws of Awaji unlocks only after completing the main story of

the game, so make sure you are ready!

More details on the expansion to come soon.

Join us on Reddit on August 12 for our next AMA (Ask Me Anything) with members of the Assassin's Creed Shadows Development Team. It will be the perfect place to ask your questions and learn more about what's in the works! Stay tuned as we reveal more about this!

And if you haven’t already, join our official Discord server and share your wildest wishes for future content in Assassin’s Creed Shadows!

Keep an eye out in the future for more contests and giveaways to enter, all with prizes to win!

Assassin's Creed Shadows is available for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Amazon Luna, Macs with Apple silicon via the Mac App Store as well as PC (Steam, Ubisoft Store and the Epic Games Store) at $69.99.