Assassin's Creed Shadows Developers Hint at Future Modern-Day Content and Core Lore Expansion

Assassin's Creed Shadows Developers Address Key Fan Questions

Since its very beginning, the Assassin's Creed series has built its narrative around the ongoing conflict between the Assassins and the Templars, unfolding across various historical settings and, crucially, in a modern-day storyline. Many long-time fans have hoped for a full shift to the present era, bringing this overarching conflict to a head. However, in recent years, the franchise has largely moved away from developing its global storyline, focusing instead on more localized historical tales.

Now, the developers behind the upcoming Assassin's Creed Shadows are cautiously reigniting fan interest. During a recent Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) session, Game Designer Luc Plante confirmed that the conflict between the Assassins and Templars remains a central pillar of the series.

“The conflict between Assassins and Templars has always been a key pillar of Assassin’s Creed. In Shadows, we wanted to first properly immerse the protagonist in the setting before further developing the conflict. Now that this is implemented in the main game, we have slightly touched upon it in the Critical Role story, and in the near future, you can expect a deeper exploration of the conflict.”
— Luc Plante, Game Designer, Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Regarding the modern-day setting, Plante's response was evasive but offered hope for fans. While he noted that the modern-day storyline isn't the primary focus in Shadows, he acknowledged its importance to the community, suggesting that players can “expect its expansion in one form or another in the future.”

The developers also addressed the fan-favorite social stealth mechanic. Associate Creative Director Simon Lemay-Comtois explained why it isn't prominently featured in Shadows.

“In Shadows, the stealth team fully focused on the tactical experience of a shogun-ninja, which meant there simply wasn't room for social stealth. However, this doesn't mean social stealth has disappeared from the Assassin's Creed series!”
— Simon Lemay-Comtois, Associate Creative Director, Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Further Insights from the AMA

• Parkour & Movement: The team behind Shadows admired Assassin's Creed Mirage's focus on parkour. However, due to the unique Japanese architecture and a more grounded gameplay approach, Naoe's movement set couldn't directly replicate Basim's fluid animations. Instead, Naoe's parkour evolved in a different direction, which might be a notable change for some players.
• Post-Launch Parkour Improvements: Inspired by Mirage's parkour, the Shadows developers are planning post-launch updates to enhance Naoe's movement. They are leveraging their colleagues' work and engaging community experts to refine the parkour system, with improvements expected by the end of the year.
• Side Content & Outfits: Diverse side content is currently not a major focus, as it proved less popular with players in previous titles. Resources are being allocated to more in-demand elements. However, several outfits linked to previous series entries are planned, with details to be revealed later.
• Hair Physics: New hairstyles won't be added, as hair physics implementation is complex and costly.
• Lore & Isu Artifacts: The Assassin's Creed lore continues to grow with new projects. Developers are not rewriting past events but also won't mention every detail unless it's crucial to the current narrative. Similarly, Isu artifacts are not part of Shadows' main story, but this doesn't mean they don't exist in the game world; they simply weren't necessary for this particular plot.
• Crossover Canon: The crossover event with Dead by Daylight is considered non-canon, a 'what if' scenario. Conversely, the Critical Role crossover is canon, and the character Rufino from it will remain within the lore.

These insights from the Assassin's Creed Shadows development team offer a glimpse into their philosophy for the game and the broader franchise. While Shadows focuses on its historical setting and tactical stealth, the developers have clearly heard the community's desire for deeper lore exploration and the return of foundational elements like the modern-day storyline. Players can look forward to not only the game's initial release but also post-launch updates to enhance the parkour experience, and potentially, a more pronounced return to the overarching Assassin-Templar saga and its contemporary implications in future titles. The game is set to release on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, Ubisoft Connect), Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5, with the Claws of Awaji DLC expanding the experience on September 16, adding a new storyline, island, weapons, skills, and gear.