Ubisoft has confirmed it not plans to launch a second main Assassin’s Creed Shadows enlargement, one thing that beforehand would have shaped a part of the sport’s now-abandoned season go.
Shadows’ first — and now, it appears, solely — main enlargement launched in September. The ten-hour Claws of Awaji had beforehand been described because the “first enlargement” included in Shadows’ season go, a proposal that was formally scrapped a yr in the past when Ubisoft delayed the sport’s launch from November 2024 to February 2025.
As an apology to followers for the sport’s delay, Ubisoft mentioned it as a substitute would present Claws of Awaji free of charge to all pre-order clients. However followers nonetheless assumed a second enlargement would observe sooner or later, as has grow to be customized for each different main Assassin’s Creed title over the previous decade.
“As of now, at this second for Yr Two, there is no such thing as a enlargement on the dimensions of Awaji that’s deliberate,” affiliate recreation director Simon Lemay-Comtois mentioned in an interview with JorRaptor.
Lemay-Comtois caveated his reply by noting some distinctive examples up to now the place Ubisoft had modified its plans to make extra add-on content material than it had initially envisioned (akin to with the latest Saudi-funded DLC that arrived two years post-launch for Assassin’s Creed Mirage). However, at the moment, it appears clear that no second enlargement is on the playing cards, and there is not any suggestion that Shadows’ post-launch plans will prolong into a Yr Three.
It is an especially shocking resolution by Ubisoft, which adopted up the launch of 2017’s Assassin’s Creed Origins with two expansions (The Hidden Ones and The Curse of the Pharaohs), 2018’s Assassin’s Creed Odyssey with two expansions (Legacy of the First Blade and The Destiny of Atlantis), and 2020’s Assassin’s Creed Odyssey with three expansions (Wrath of the Druids, The Siege of Paris, Daybreak of Ragnarök) alongside quite a few different smaller DLC drops. 2023’s smaller-scale Assassin’s Creed Mirage was itself initially deliberate as one more Valhalla enlargement, earlier than it was finally launched as a standalone recreation.
“We’re nonetheless engaged on content material for post-launch and supporting it, but it surely’s not a full-on DLC the best way a season go would have had within the earlier years,” Lemay-Comtois mentioned, confirming not less than that Ubisoft nonetheless had plans for smaller additions to Shadows inside 2026.
“We’re attempting to re-adjust for Yr Two a little bit,” he continued. “There’s studying from Yr One we will apply to Yr Two. Any content material we would like to do in Yr Two will in all probability be extra sparse, not a drip-feed… however chunkier updates that shake issues up a little extra. I am not saying something at this level however our technique for Yr One was to be fast and reactive, so it means smaller drops usually, however for Yr Two we do not want to put fires out or something, so it is extra what good, chunky little piece of meat… we will drop and have folks come again and revel in it.”
Digging into Lemay-Comtois’ remark, the suggestion right here is that Ubisoft’s resolution to change course on Shadows following its pre-release reception impacted the corporate’s plans for post-launch assist, with precedence positioned on preventing fast “fires.” And certainly, Shadows has loved a collection of latest patches which have added quite a few fan-requested options, in a clear bid to flip sentiment round. Going into additional element, Lemay-Comtois additionally prompt Shadows had been a more durable recreation to develop technologically, additional complicating plans to get post-launch content material prepared.
“I feel with Shadows, we had a large bounce in generations,” he continued. “The engine work that we had to do on Shadows took a lot of time and a lot of our sources. So the planning for the submit launch was probably not clear as quickly as it will have been on one other [game] the place the know-how was extra secure and well-known.
“We began pretty late on Shadows… as a result of I keep in mind throughout pre-launch we had the Season Go,” he admitted. “And the state of affairs modified once we pushed again on the discharge date. That plan modified fairly a bit after which we had to sort of adapt to the state of affairs. So due to the brand new tech, due to the brand new era, due to the pushes we had in manufacturing, we selected an method that was far more, let’s put our ear to the bottom when the sport launches… and react.”
For 2026, Lemay-Comtois prompt Shadows would obtain updates “not to the dimensions of a DLC or enlargement, however like yesterday’s replace plus,” referencing the free replace that arrived this week that added a new story quest, the sport’s Assault on Titan crossover, in addition to a important Isu Easter egg. “At minimal this measurement,” he emphasised, with out stating whether or not these updates would proceed to be offered free of charge or not.
“And whether or not or not that is the appropriate manner to go, or a good studying, I feel it is extra of an expertise we’re attempting with Shadows, to maintain issues small and reactive and see how the group feels about it and reacts to it,” he concluded. “And the learnings that come out of that will probably be utilized to no matter different initiatives we do subsequent.”
In fact, it is to be anticipated that Shadows’ lead developer Ubisoft Quebec is already planning its subsequent main Assassin’s Creed venture (and certainly, it was beforehand reported that the studio had begun early pre-production work final yr on a now-scrapped entry set within the post-U.S. Civil Battle interval). However the point out right here of these initiatives is attention-grabbing, alongside affirmation of what seems like smaller plans for Shadows in 2026 than followers have seen this yr.
After which there’s what else followers count on is coming: a remake of Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag reportedly ready within the wings, in addition to quite a few different Assassin’s Creed initiatives that Ubisoft has already confirmed, together with a multiplayer spin-off and the witchcraft-themed Assassin’s Creed: Hexe. Amongst all that, and paired with Shadows’ delay drama, Ubisoft appears to have merely determined a second Shadows enlargement is not crucial.
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Tom Phillips is IGN’s Information Editor. You may attain Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or discover him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social