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Ubisoft has finally lifted the lid on what to expect from Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ post-launch plans, which will include “regular” dollops of extra story missions, fan-requested features and a New Game Plus option.
New story “drops” will be free, provide new allies for your base, fresh abilities and activities, and “additional backstory that will permanently impact the game”, Ubisoft has said.
There will also be a focus on further fleshing out side characters, as evidenced by the first mission, due early next month, which will centre on Portuguese character Luis Frois.
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Other upcoming free content includes new difficulty settings, photo mode updates (including poses), extra parkour options, plus additional Codex updates and battle pass-esque Projects. There’s also mention of “special collaborations” – which sound a lot like Assassin’s Creed is dipping its toe back into crossover territory. (Remember when Chocobo turned up in Assassin’s Creed Origins?)
There’s less detail, for now, on Shadows’ first major expansion Claws of Awaji. Ubisoft noted today that the add-on – provided free to those who pre-ordered Shadows – will be set after the game’s current epilogue, and pick up both Naoe and Yasuke’s ongoing stories. When will it arrive? Ubisoft isn’t telling – instead saying simply it’ll launch “later this year”.
Other gameplay changes coming include a slew of fan-requests that Eurogamer noted shortly after Shadows’ launch, including the ability to remove your headgear in cutscenes. Additional parkour options such as height-gaining back and side ejects plus a new vertical ledge jump are also on the way.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows free post-launch roadmap:
Early May: The Works of Luis Frois story mission, codex update, quality of life improvements
Late May: First “special collaboration”, parkour update, photo mode update
June: Second story mission including new ally, new difficulty settings, gameplay immersion options, open world alarm system, headgear in cutscene option
Future: New Game Plus, more story missions, additional community feedback updates, further special collaborations, codex updates, rewards and Animus content
“Majestic in scope, impressive in detail, Assassin’s Creed Shadows honours the beauty of feudal Japan,” I wrote in Eurogamer’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows review, “even if its strongest moments are saved for the personal stories of its two protagonists.”
