Assassin’s Creed Shadows is releasing in just a couple of weeks, finally taking players to the long-awaited setting of Japan. In this title, players will get to embrace the shinobi and samurai fantasies through two protagonists: the assassin Naoe and the samurai Yasuke. A lot is happening in Japan around this time, with the game taking place around the final years of the Sengoku period, but there are their personal stories, the rising Shinbakufu, other factions, and the backdrop of Assassin’s Creed to consider as well. If taken as a standalone game, there’s a lot of intrigue to its very premise, but its role in the franchise is just as important.
For Game Rant Advance, I asked Ubisoft Quebec creative director Jonathan Dumont perhaps my most burning question for Assassin’s Creed Shadows and the franchise: “What’s Kassandra up to?” Fans of the franchise know that Kassandra, the canonical protagonist of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, has lived for over 2000 years thanks to the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus. In other words, Kassandra is alive for most of the franchise’s landmark releases.
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Because of her long life, Kassandra befriends the Hidden Ones, adopts a Hidden Blade, and appears in key locations like Alexandria, Egypt over time. Her immortality is also why the crossover stories for Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Valhalla were possible, which was some of the most exciting and well-received franchise content released over the past few years. Now, a lot of fans are curious if something similar will happen for AC Shadows, but all Dumont could offer was a tease:
“Kassandra is very much alive during these times. She is somewhere around the globe, lurking in the shadows.”
This is not outright confirmation of her appearance in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, either in the base game or via an update/DLC, but it’s hard to hear “lurking in the shadows” as anything other than a major tease. We can only keep our fingers crossed, of course, but it’s worth pointing out that Ubisoft Quebec was the lead development studio on AC Odyssey, as well as the upcoming AC Shadows. If a crossover with AC Valhalla happened, which Ubisoft Montreal led development on, then it certainly makes sense that it could happen in AC Shadows. Not to mention, it would be incredibly interesting to see how the dynamic between Kassandra, Yasuke, and Naoe played out.
For now, all fans can do is be patient. I (and I am sure many others) will be looking for Kassandra at launch, and even if she’s not there, there’s no ruling out DLC or updates. Associate game director Simon Lemay-Comtois told us that the plan for post-launch, aside from a few concrete plans like the Claws of Awaji DLC, a few special events, and certain additional content, was “giving more of what they want to our players, first and foremost.” Well, I hope to see Kassandra sooner rather than later since, you know, she’s somewhere around the globe “lurking in the SHADOWS.“
- Released
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March 20, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language