Previous games in the Assassin's Creed franchise have taken place in key historical eras, ranging from Ancient Egypt to the Golden Age of Piracy. Assassin's Creed Shadows, the upcoming entry in the series, takes players to Japan's Warring States Period, where daimyo battled for power as the ruling Shogunate declined. The Assassin's Creed Shadows team were excited to create a game set in feudal Japan, an era that allowed them to explore the effects of constant conflict on ordinary people and show the beginnings of the upcoming Edo Period's artistic and cultural revolution.

Both associate game director Simon Lemay-Comtois and associate narrative director Brooke Davies revealed that their teams were thrilled when the Japanese setting was decided on. "It's a project we've been excited to make," Davies shared, describing the writing team's enthusiasm to see the game come to life. Lemay-Comtois was personally glad that Ubisoft waited until the current generation of gaming technology to make a Japan-set Assassin's Creed game, as it allowed his team to include elements such as cycling seasons and precise katana cuts that weren't possible before.

The Warring States Period Was a Time of Great Change for Japan

Assassin's Creed Shadows begins in 1579, during the Azuchi-Momoyama period. Oda Nobunaga is at the height of his power, although his death at Honnoji following the betrayal of Akechi Mitsuhide looms on the horizon. The Warring States period is drawing to its close, but many years of conflict and struggle still lie ahead for the country, with the rise of the Tokugawa Shogunate still in the future.

Davies explained that they chose the Warring States period because it allowed them to showcase both samurai and shinobi fighting styles, introduce characters on different sides of a country-spanning conflict, and focus on Yasuke, a real historical figure whose life was extremely mysterious. Yasuke served Nobunaga as a samurai, but much remains unknown about him, making him the perfect choice for a protagonist. In addition, however, the team also looked to the future and tried to portray hints of the cultural growth that Japan would soon experience.

These big times of war, of transformation, are catalysts for growth and change. It was also the seed, the start of an artistic renaissance that bloomed later in the Edo period. We had this war and politics and intrigue on one side that we were able to explore, but then also this incredible glimmering of this artistic and cultural future in Japan as well.

Both Samurai and Shinobi Flourished During This Time

The setting choice also allowed for the creation of two protagonists with distinct stories and fighting styles, different from previous Assassin's Creed games. Yasuke is a samurai and thus fights with a wide variety of weapons and prefers head-on combat. Naoe, a shinobi from the province of Iga, is described by Davies as "relatively sheltered from this foreign conflict up to this point in her life." Her fighting style incorporates much of the series' traditional stealth mechanics, assassinating foes using her katana, kusari-gama, and hidden blade.

Davies and her team worked with experts to perform thorough research and accurately portray what life was like in feudal Japan, bringing to mind other Japan-set titles like Ghost of Tsushima. The game's large open world allowed them to focus on "the detail that goes into every castle and village, even the nature and what plants were there." This research goes hand in hand with Lemay-Comtois' comments on the unique current-gen hardware offerings, like Shadows' seasons and the ability to slice even individual oranges in-game:

"Now, we're really able to push it and show all the seasons and all the stuff that makes it so special as well...We have snow that will stack on the ground, which is something that's particularly hard to do. Sakura trees bloom and petals fly off. I don't have the exact number of petals that can fly off at any given point but it works with the wind, the weather, all of these things we put together. We could not do it before."

Another benefit is the slicing tech behind katanas, with Lemay-Comtois explaining,

"We really wanted to pay homage to the katana. You can slice through rocks, according to legends, so we developed some slicing tech. From there, we were like, 'Okay, how can we push it? If you kick somebody in that stuff, how does it break? How does it roll off?" And you can actually slice individual oranges in the game.

The result is a detailed look at Japan from both Yasuke's viewpoint as a samurai and Naoe's as a shinobi, as the two team up and work together to survive in a conflict-ridden world. Players will be able to experience Assassin's Creed Shadows' take on Japan when the game launches in November 2024.