Assassin's Creed Shadows: Release date, pre-order and latest news

As an apology for the delay, Ubisoft has promised that "pre-orders will be refunded and all future pre-orders will be granted the first expansion for free".

With that out of the way, more on the game itself.

Unlike Assassin’s Creed Mirage, a throwback to the first game in the series, Shadows has more in common with Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla. More of that breathtaking scale and RPG goodness is on the way.

This time, though, it stars dual protagonists, each with a different playstyle.

Hopefully the extra few months of waiting will be worth it and the game scores highly in the best and worst Assassin’s Creed games.

Based on what we've seen so far, fans are optimistic Shadows will deliver.

Keep reading to find out everything there is to know about the Assassin's Creed Shadows release date, where to pre-order, and to learn more about its story and gameplay details.

Leap of faith down to the end of the page to watch a trailer or two!

When is the Assassin's Creed Shadows release date?

Assassin's Creed Shadows will release on 14th February 2025.

You can also play Assassin’s Creed Shadows three days early if you purchase the appropriate edition of the game, which we will cover in the next section.

The original release date was meant to be in November 2024, but Ubisoft has made the decision to delay the game as the developer needs "more time to polish and refine the experience".

Can I pre-order Assassin's Creed Shadows?

Yes, you can pre-order Assassin's Creed Shadows right now.

If you do so, you will be awarded the bonus quest Thrown to the Dogs, regardless of which version you purchase.

Of said versions, there are five to choose from: The Standard Edition, the Limited/Special Editions, the Gold Edition, the Ultimate Edition and the Collector’s Edition. Check out which each includes just below.

Standard Edition

• Base game
• Pre-order Bonus (Thrown to the Dogs Quest)

Limited/Special Edition (Exclusive to Amazon and GAME)

• Base game
• Pre-order Bonus (Thrown to the Dogs Quest)
• The Sekiryu Character Pack including gear and weapon sets for both Naoe and Yasuke, the Sekiryu Beast, and Dragon Tooth trinket

Gold Edition

• Base game
• Pre-order Bonus (Thrown to the Dogs Quest)
• Season Pass
• Three days Early Access

Ultimate Edition

All of the above and the Ultimate Pack, which includes:

• The Sekiryu Character Pack including gear and weapon sets for both Naoe and Yasuke, the Sekiryu Beast, and Dragon Tooth trinket
• The Sekiryu Hideout Pack including four unique ornaments to customise the hideout for your shinobi league
• Five skill points
• The Red Dragon filter in Photo mode

Collector's Edition

All of the above and the following items:

• Naoe and Yasuke dual character statue (about 40 centimeters/15.7 inches)
• Unique steelbook case
• Collector’s art book (84 pages)
• Naoe’s katana tsuba (life-sized)
• World map
• Creed wall scroll (70x30 centimeters/27.6x11.8 inches)
• Two sumi-e lithographs (13.5x19 centimeters/5.3x7.5 inches)

Below, you can check out where to pre-order all editions of the game:

Assassin's Creed Shadows PC pre-orders

• Pre-order the Collector’s Edition from GAME
• Pre-order the Standard Edition, the Gold Edition or Ultimate Edition from CDKeys
• Pre-order the Standard, Gold or Ultimate Editions from Ubisoft

Assassin's Creed Shadows PS5 pre-orders

• Pre-order the Collector’s Edition from GAME
• Pre-order the Standard Edition from GAME
• Pre-order the Limited/Special Edition from Amazon or GAME
• Pre-order the Gold Edition from Amazon or GAME
• Pre-order the Ultimate Edition from the PlayStation Store

Assassin's Creed Shadows Xbox Series X/S pre-orders

• Pre-order the Collector’s Edition from GAME
• Pre-order the Standard Edition, the Gold Edition or Ultimate Edition from CDKeys
• Pre-order the Standard Edition (physical copy) from GAME
• Pre-order the Limited/Special Edition (physical copy) from Amazon or GAME
• Pre-order the Gold Edition (physical copy) from Amazon or GAME

Assassin's Creed Shadows MacOS pre-orders

• Pre-order Assassin's Creed Shadows from the Mac App Store

Which consoles and platforms can play Assassin's Creed Shadows?

Assassin’s Creed Shadows will be available to play on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and MacOS.

Unlike other Apple Silicone ports such as Resident Evil Village and 4 or Death Stranding, which came some time after their respective launches, Assassin’s Creed Shadows will release on MacOS alongside the other versions of the game, making it quite the coup for Apple.

There has been a big push from the Cupertino tech giant, as the latest Macs from them have pretty powerful gaming chops when utilised properly.

Hopefully, we see more games come to Macs and iPhones, as there is no doubt a huge market there to tap into - which could go some way to alleviating the financial pressures developers have been facing as of late.

Assassin's Creed Shadows gameplay and story details

Assassin’s Creed Shadows takes place in feudal Japan, and sees players take control of two characters – Naoe and Yasuke – as the political landscape around them shifts.

Naoe is a shinobi Assassin who favours stealth and lurking in the shadows, whereas Yasuke, a legendary figure from Japanese history, is a formidable samurai who prefers a more direct confrontation.

During the course of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the game progresses into winter, which will bring its own host of pros and cons – especially for Naoe.

Snow will crumple loudly underfoot, and hanging icicles can snap and fall as you walk on rooftops, but so too do the snowstorms conceal her from her enemies.

What Ubisoft has said about controversy surrounding historical accuracy

Some people have been flooding X (formerly known as Twitter) and other social media platforms with angry comments bemoaning the inclusion of Yasuke as a playable character in Assassin's Creed Shadows.

Everyone and their mum has weighed in on the conversation, and now Ubisoft has released a message in an attempt to put the issue to bed once and for all.

In the message from the developer – which you can read in full – Ubisoft explains that it has "put significant effort into ensuring an immersive and respectful representation of Feudal Japan".

"However, our intention has never been to present any of our Assassin's Creed games, including Assassin's Creed Shadows, as factual representations of history, or historical characters.

"Instead, we aim to spark curiosity and encourage players to explore and learn more about the historical settings we get inspired by."

It is historical fiction.

Nevertheless, Ubisoft has apologised for any concern raised within the Japanese community. The apology in full follows: "Our team extensively collaborated with external consultants, historians, researchers and internal teams at Ubisoft Japan to inform our creative choices.

"Despite these sustained efforts, we acknowledge that some elements in our promotional materials have caused concern within the Japanese community. For this, we sincerely apologise.

"All game footage presented so far is in development, and the game will keep evolving until launch. Based on the constructive criticism we have received, we will continue our efforts until we put this game into your hands - and beyond."

Is there an Assassin's Creed Shadows trailer?

Indeed, you can check out the cinematic trailer above! This is just a CGI trailer, however, and doesn’t offer us a glimpse of any actual gameplay.

Still, it’s exciting to see what Ubisoft has in store for us, and it’s great to see that those who miss the more stealth-orientated days of Assassin’s Creed are well-catered for, while also keeping the more action-packed gameplay of recent titles.

Hopefully, we get a proper gameplay trailer soon, as you may not want to pre-order before seeing the goods.

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