The next installment of the iconic Assassin’s Creed franchise is almost upon us, as we’re heading to Japan for the first time in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. There’s a lot riding on this game, as Ubisoft is giving it their all and showing a lot of confidence, especially in the face of a game that many view as their last chance for success.
We’re looking forward to trying out the dual-protagonist approach to Assassin’s Creed, as well as experiencing all the new stuff that awaits us after a long wait since the last big RPG-style Assassin’s Creed Valhalla back in 2020. In case you’re as excited as us, we’ve put together this Assassin’s Creed Shadows launch guide, telling you everything you need to know to prepare for the release. From pre-orders to post-launch content, read on and get ready for Assassin’s Creed Shadows!
When can you pre-load Assassin’s Creed Shadows?
You can pre-load Assassin’s Creed Shadows to get the game ready to jump into immediately at launch time, more on those later. Pre-loads are separated by platform, so we’re going to give you all the information we have to help you spot your specific region and platform combination.
For Xbox Series X|S players, pre-loading of Assassin’s Creed Shadows is already available globally. For players on PlayStation 5, you can pre-load the game at midnight on March 18 in local time of whatever country you’re in. For PC players, pre-loading is also already available once this article is published! Whichever platform you’re choosing, you’ve got a few days left to download Assassin’s Creed Shadows ready for its launch.
What time does Assassin’s Creed Shadows launch?
There’s a global launch of Assassin’s Creed Shadows on March 20, but because nothing is ever that easy, the time that you can start playing your pre-loaded game is different by region and by platform. Again, let’s break down exactly when you can start playing Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
On consoles, Assassin’s Creed Shadows launches at 12 AM local time. Wherever you are in the world, if you’re playing on PS5 or Xbox Series X|S then you can start the game at midnight. For PC players it gets a little more complicated, as it’s divided by PC storefronts Steam and Ubisoft Connect, and then also made different across each region. Check out the official map from Ubisoft above for your exact region and the time you can download on whichever PC gaming provider you’re using.
What are Assassin’s Creed Shadows pre-order bonuses?
All pre-orders of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, regardless of the edition you’re purchasing, come with the same pre-order bonuses. For pre-ordering Assassin’s Creed Shadows you get one bonus quest titled Thrown to the Dogs, along with an entire expansion set to launch later in 2025.
The 2025 expansion titled Claws of Awaji will add a new weapon type, along with new skills and gear, and over 10 hours of additional content including a new story set “on a mysterious island”. Details are sparse on what the expansion will play like, but receiving an entire DLC for pre-ordering is certainly a treat, especially when initially planned as a premium purchase only available standalone or with more expensive editions of the game.
What comes with each Assassin’s Creed Shadows edition?
In a refreshing turn of events, there are only three easy-to-understand editions of Assassin’s Creed Shadows available to purchase. Ubisoft are infamous for requiring players to check out spreadsheets to plan what edition they want to buy, but this time around we can make it a lot simpler.
The Standard Edition of the game comes with just the base game of Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The Digital Deluxe Edition comes with five bonus mastery points to use in-game, along with a Deluxe Pack. The Deluxe Pack comes with the Claws of Awaji expansion and two bundles of cosmetics: the Sekiryu Dual Pack with two armor sets, two katanas, a mount and a trinket, along with the Sekiryu hideout pack that comes with four decorations for your in-game hideouts. Finally, there’s a premium Collector’s Edition only available physically, which comes with the base game, the Deluxe Edition content, as well as a SteelBook case, art book, Naoe and Yasuke statue, a world map, a wall scroll, two lithographs and a life-sized katana tsuba from Naoe’s katana.
Will Assassin’s Creed Shadows have post-launch DLC support?
All we know so far is that Ubisoft plans to release the Claws of Awaji DLC expansion sometime later in 2025, the same expansion that will be free for those who pre-order the game. Whilst the game did originally have a season pass, Ubisoft scrapped these plans in an effort to appeal to more players and create a more universal experience. For the same reason they removed early access to the game for those with pricier editions, instead giving everyone the same March 20 release date.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows doesn’t have any post-launch content planned besides the expansion, even a new game plus at the moment, but Ubisoft did say that if player feedback demands it that they’d consider it. Perhaps if Assassin’s Creed Shadows performs well by Ubisoft’s standard, they may deem it worthy of more support.
Does Assassin’s Creed Shadows have Twitch Drops?
From March 18 – 25, Twitch Drops will be available for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, granting players bonus in-game cosmetics for tuning into livestreams. The cosmetic rewards are all for female protagonist Naoe, giving her a new headband, gear and weapon. In total, it’ll take four hours to earn all the cosmetics if you tune into a participating Twitch stream.
And that’s our launch guide complete! Will you be pre-ordering Assassin’s Creed Shadows? Are you looking forward to seeing the game release, or will you be waiting to try out Ubisoft’s next entry in the iconic saga? Let us know in the comments down below, and keep your eyes on GameLuster for more breaking gaming news.
