Ubisoft has promised a steady stream of updates for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, committing to deliver “regular free updates” that will introduce features like a new game plus mode, fresh quests, story expansions, and improvements based on community feedback, the publisher announced on Wednesday.
As previously revealed, Shadows will see its first expansion, titled Claws of Awaji, released later this year. This expansion will unlock Awaji Island, a new location in the game set in the eastern region of Japan’s Inland Sea. While it is visible on the map near Sakai, players will finally be able to explore it extensively in the upcoming expansion.
Claws of Awaji will continue the narrative of Naoe and Yasuke right after the events of the epilogue in Shadows, according to Ubisoft’s blog post. This expansion is set to add approximately 10 hours of gameplay, including a new weapon for Naoe—the bo staff, a key element in Japanese martial arts. While the expansion is a pre-order bonus for early buyers, Ubisoft has yet to disclose its price for others.
Moreover, Ubisoft plans to introduce several free updates labeled as Story Drops, beginning in May with “The Works of Luis Frois.” Frois, a Jesuit missionary and scholar, is among the Portuguese group that arrives in Japan alongside Yasuke at the start of Assassin’s Creed Shadows. A second Story Drop is expected in June, which will add a new ally to the League of the Hidden Blade. Each Story Drop will contribute “additional backstory that will have a lasting impact on the game,” Ubisoft reports.
The development team for Assassin’s Creed Shadows is also focused on implementing quality-of-life enhancements. Following the recent post-launch patch that introduced auto-follow capabilities for the horse, the team is planning to incorporate new parkour moves, allowing Naoe and Yasuke greater maneuverability. Players are hoping for the return of features like the ability to sell or dismantle multiple items simultaneously, which had been available in an early April patch but was disabled due to bugs.
For example, currently, players cannot leap from a standstill to grabledges that appear accessible; this feature is planned for a future patch. Additionally, community-requested features like the option to wear headgear in cutscenes are also in development. Looking ahead, larger updates are anticipated, including a new game plus mode that will increase the level cap and introduce more challenging difficulty settings for stealth and combat.
