Assassin's Creed Shadows - Everything you need to know!

Equip your hidden blade when Assassins Creed returns later this week with the launch of Assassin's Creed Shadows on March 20th. Take a look at our recap guide for the game to get up to speed while you wait!

What is Assassin's Creed Shadows?

The Assassin's Creed franchise returns later this week when Assassin's Creed Shadows launches on March 20th (or the 19th depending on your region). Created by the team at Ubisoft Quebec (Assassin's Creed Syndicate, Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Immortals: Fenyx Rising), Shadows takes players to the much requested location of feudal Japan during the 16th century at a time of civil war. You'll take control of two protagonists, (much like Syndicate let you switch between two characters) as you tackle missions either as the stealthy shinobi Naoe or the samurai Yasuke.

Being an Assassins Creed game you can explore a large world filled with activities, with a map that's said to be on comparison to Assassin's Creed Origins. Explore regions such as Kyoto, Kobe, Osaka and more, with each one being richly detailed thanks to the game's use of the Anvil Engine, offering a range of dynamic weather effects such as snow, rain and wind allowing a great immersion into the world. With the addition of weather, this creates some unique gameplay opportunities - like being able to move over frozen bodies of water, or hiding in tall grass.

Players will also have access to a range of weapons, from Katanas to Kanabō with each having their own skill trees to allow further customisation. Speaking of customisation, what's a shinobi to do during their off hours? In Assassins Creed Shadows you can create your own hideout, which you can hang with your followers and enjoy a little downtime between missions. This is similar to how Assassins Creed Valhalla worked with a central outpost for your band of vikings.

The game also offers an extensive range of stealth and combat mechanics, such as being able to throw smoke bombs, crawl under things and being able to scope things out from the rooftops. Of course parkour is nothing new to the series, but there's a greater emphasis on the stealth this time. Gone are the days when you could send your bird up into the air and scout out a location - instead you'll have to rely on the new "Observe" mode to get a handle on your enemies and surroundings.

And this is just the tip of the hidden blade! There's so much more the game offers, whether you're a newcomer to the series, or someone who has been playing for a while. Assassins Creed Shadows may be the Action game you've been waiting for!

Assassin's Creed Shadows Trailer Recap

Witness the beautiful lands of Feudal Japan with gameplay clips and trailers from the game while you wait. We put some of the best moments into a handy playlist for you to check out ahead of release!

Assassin's Creed Shadows PC system requirements

With the game being tailored to run on a variety of setups (both Low and High-End) you can expect a wide range of settings, and the minimum CPU is a Intel® Core™ i7 8700k/ AMD Ryzen™ 5 3600 paired with a Nvidia® GeForce GTX 1070 8GB / AMD Radeon RX 5700 8GB / Intel® Arc A580 8GB to get a Low 1080p (using upscaling) at 30 FPS. For those who want to push the game even higher, the top end enthusiasts should aim to have at least an Intel i7 13700k/ AMD Ryzen 7 7800x3D paired with a Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 24GB if you want to run the game at Extreme 4k (using upscaling) at 60 FPS.

Of course there's still room between those, check out the full list below to see where your machine stacks up.

As always we'd recommend making sure you have the latest drivers for your Graphics Card to ensure the smoothest experience at release - AMD / Nvidia.

SELECTIVE RAY TRACING

MINIMUM

• Resolution/FPS Using Dynamic Resolution and Upscaling: 1080P at 30 FPS
• Visual Settings: Low
• CPU: Intel® Core™ i7 8700k/ AMD Ryzen™ 5 3600
• GPU: Nvidia® GeForce GTX™ 1070 8GB/ AMD Radeon™ RX 5700 8GB/ Intel® Arc™ A580 8GB (REBAR ON)

RECOMMENDED

• Resolution/FPS Using Dynamic Resolution and Upscaling: 1080P at 60 FPS
• Visual Settings: High
• CPU: Intel® Core™ i5 11600k/ AMD Ryzen™ 5 5600x
• GPU: Nvidia® GeForce RTX™ 3060Ti 8GB/ AMD Radeon™ RX 6700 XT 12GB/ Intel® Arc™ B580 12GB (REBAR ON)

ENTHUSIAST

• Resolution/FPS Using Dynamic Resolution and Upscaling: 1440P at 60 FPS
• Visual Settings: High
• CPU: Intel® Core™ i5 11600k/ AMD Ryzen™ 5 5600x
• GPU: Nvidia® GeForce RTX™ 2070 8GB/ AMD Radeon™ RX 6700 XT 12GB/ Intel® Arc™ B580 12GB (REBAR ON)
• Resolution/FPS Using Dynamic Resolution and Upscaling: 4K at 60 FPS
• Visual Settings: High
• CPU: Intel® Core™ i7 12700k/ AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800x3D
• GPU: Nvidia® GeForce RTX™ 4070 Ti Super 16GB/ AMD Radeon™ RX 7900 XT 20GB

STANDARD RAY TRACING

MINIMUM

• Resolution/FPS Using Dynamic Resolution and Upscaling: 1080P at 30 FPS
• Visual Settings: High
• CPU: Intel® Core™ i7 8700k/ AMD Ryzen™ 5 3600
• GPU: Nvidia® GeForce RTX™ 2070 8GB/ Nvidia® GeForce RTX™ 2070 8GB/ Intel® Arc™ B580 12GB (REBAR ON)

RECOMMENDED

• Resolution/FPS Using Dynamic Resolution and Upscaling: 1440P at 60 FPS
• Visual Settings: High
• CPU: Intel® Core™ i5 11600k/ AMD Ryzen™ 5 5600x
• GPU: Nvidia® GeForce RTX™ 4070 Super 12GB/ AMD Radeon ™ RX 7800 XT 16GB

EXTENDED RAY TRACING

ENTHUSIAST

• Resolution/FPS Using Dynamic Resolution and Upscaling: 1440p at 60 FPS
• Visual Settings: Ultra
• CPU: Intel® Core™ Intel i7 13700k/ AMD Ryzen™ 7 7800x3D
• GPU: Nvidia® GeForce RTX™ 4080 16GB

EXTREME

• Resolution/FPS Using Dynamic Resolution and Upscaling: 4K at 60 FPS
• Visual Settings: Ultra
• CPU: Intel® Core™ Intel i7 13700k/ AMD Ryzen™ 7 7800x3D
• GPU: Nvidia® GeForce RTX™ 4090 24GB

Assassin's Creed Shadows PC pre-order bonus

Regardless of whether you choose the Standard or the Digital Deluxe Edition. If you pre-order Assassin's Creed Shadows on Gamesplanet, you will receive the bonus quest "Thrown to the Dogs" and access to the upcoming "Claws of Awaji" expansion, releasing later in 2025. Travel to a new region, get over 10 hours of additional content, and unlock a new weapon type, new skills, gear, and abilities..

Assassin's Creed Shadows PC launch and preload times

Be ready for the release later this week on March 19th at 21:00 PT / 22:00 GMT / 23:00 CET (region dependent) and start preloading the game today!

Launch: March 19th at 9pm PT / 22:00 GMT / 23:00 CET
Preload: Available Now!

Problems with Assassin's Creed Shadows? Help is on the way!

We are happy to help if you have technical problems with the PC version of Assassin's Creed Shadows or general questions about purchasing and activating the game. We have set up a first aid kit for this purpose. You can also contact our helpful support team at [email protected].