Back in 2022, Ubisoft provided some details on what’s next for the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Several new games were announced. Codename Jade is an upcoming mobile game coming in 2025. Codename Red is the next open-world RPG set in feudal Japan, one of the community’s most highly requested locations. Codename HEXE is a new flagship title in the series and will be “a very different type of Assassin’s Creed game.” Following the release of Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Codename Red is the next game in the series. Today, Ubisoft officially revealed that the next game is titled Assassin’s Creed Shadows. They also announced that the cinematic world premiere trailer will be released later this week on Wednesday, May 15, at 9 AM PT.
As of now, little is known about Assassin’s Creed Shadows, but as always with the franchise, there have been leaks and rumors which have already revealed some information about the title. According to Insider Gaming, Shadows continues Odyssey’s and Valhalla’s tradition of two playable characters to choose from. In Shadows’ case, the game will feature a male Samurai who is an African refugee and a female Shinobi. We may have already seen a look at the female Shinobi thanks to one of the game’s writers.
According to the leaker:
“The heroine should be called Naoé/Naoi (but it could be changed between now and the release of the game, like Jora became Eivor in Valhalla). It is also very likely that it is her name in Japanese “ナオエ” under the Assassins logo on the right. Her story is similar to that of Bayek. A member of the Order will kill her father and a quest for revenge will follow which will push her to create/join the shinobi.”
Insider Gaming also talked about some of the game’s features and how they’ll be taking some things from other franchises. Stealth will be major feature in Shadows. Players will be able to use shadows to conceal themselves and can extinguish torches to stay in the dark similar to shooting lights in Splinter Cell. The development team had to completely overhaul everything due to the move of a unified engine for the series called Anvil Pipeline. This includes animations, the parkour system, dynamic weather, and more.
Another leak revealed a potential release date of November 15, 2024, for Assassin’s Creed Shadows. We’ll have to wait and see what gets shown off on May 15 and what they show off in June during the next Ubisoft Forward when the gameplay will reportedly be revealed.