Assassin’s Creed Shadows Devs Detail Its Role in the Franchise

Players have been looking forward to an Assassin’s Creed game set in Japan for a long time, and Assassin’s Creed Shadows finally delivers. But a game being in a particular setting is more than its history and architecture; its people and its stories help bring it to life. Combine that with the long and storied franchise history come Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and it’s clear how much the devs had to do when adhering to the franchise and to established lore, but also to fleshing out its world and characters.

Game Rant recently spoke with creative director Jonathan Dumont, executive producer Marc-Alexis Côté, Animus Hub content director Ben Swinden, and associate narrative designer Brooke Davies about the characters and narrative in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

How AC Shadows Approaches Franchise Lore

Q: What can you tell us about the Pieces of Eden in AC Shadows?

Côté: I don’t want to spoil too much of the game–or where the metastory is headed–but we approached Shadows with a more grounded perspective, focusing on the challenges and tensions of the era. That means the modern narrative is evolving as well. Rather than centering on a direct hunt for Pieces of Eden or Isu artifacts, the memories themselves take on a new kind of importance.

We’re also shifting how we tell the metastory. While Shadows will have less Modern Day content at launch, we plan to expand it significantly after release. The Modern Day should feel alive, evolving over years, and connecting across multiple games in ways that make the journey more immersive and meaningful.

This approach gives us the flexibility to tie up loose ends from past games in a satisfying way while laying the groundwork for new stories to unfold. What you’ll experience in Shadows at launch is just the beginning—the start of something bigger that will grow across upcoming games.

Q: How was ‘canon mode’ conceived?

Dumont: When we introduced a choice of characters and dialogue choices in AC Odyssey, many of our fans loved the idea, but some expressed their disappointment in not having a definitive and canon narrative for the game that could be imbedded in the AC lore meta story.

After speaking with our fans during development, we decided to add a mode that takes out all the choices for AC Shadows and that can serve as a reference story within the franchise. This way players can enjoy the more RPG style of narrative or a more linear one, if they prefer.

Q: What steps have been taken to keep ‘canon mode’ engaging even with the lack of choice?

Dumont: AC Shadows has very emotional and layered storylines that should keep players engaged, regardless of the narrative mode they choose. The story has a few late reveals and flashbacks that will keep players guessing and touches different themes and political intrigues that will keep players entertained.

Q: Do you foresee canon mode being a mainstay feature for the franchise?

Dumont: We’re eager to see if fans like it in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, but it can be an interesting evolving solution for any AC game that offers dialogue choices.

Q: So…around the time of AC Shadows, what’s Kassandra up to?

Dumont: Kassandra is very much alive during these times. She is somewhere around the globe, lurking in the shadows.

Q: What can you tell us about the Hidden Blade in AC Shadows? Its role in the story, its unique mechanics, how Naoe wields it, et cetera?

Dumont: The design of Naoe’s hidden blade is interesting because it allows Naoe some versatility that alternates between stealth and combat. In addition to the traditional sliding function that allows Naoe to perform assassinations, the blade is also mounted on a swivel that allows the blade to pivot and be used as a secondary weapon, when Naoe has a Tanto equipped as a primary weapon.

This mechanism allows Naoe to dual wield in combat and be very effective in short range melee. As for the role of the hidden blade in the story, players will get to witness the significance as they play the game.

Q: For the Animus Hub, are there plans to eventually make past games available on it?

Swinden: The Animus Hub does not currently support titles released prior to Assassin’s Creed Origins. However, the Animus Hub will continue to evolve going forward, with new features and content rolling out in the years to come.

Q: How will the anomalies in the Hub play differently from past in-game anomalies?

Swinden: Yes, they will be different than what you saw in Valhalla, for example. With the launch of AC Shadows, Anomalies provide new weekly quests rooted in the historical setting, leveraging core gameplay systems–you’ll play as Naoe or Yasuke.

These quests will give you new reasons to explore the world and fight challenging enemies in locations spread throughout feudal Japan.

Meet the Assassins and the Threats

Yasuke and Naoe

Q: Can you discuss Yasuke and Naoe’s individual character arcs? How do they differ, what themes do they share, and how do they intertwine?

Dumont: I would not want to spoil the story for our players and especially how the duo’s story arcs intertwine. Both Naoe and Yasuke have their own personal stories in the game that are layered in the game through flashbacks or specific events. Without going too much into specifics, their stories will cover themes such as honoring those who trusted you and the importance of community. There is also a bit of revenge sprinkled here and there.

Q: Naoe is our Assassin but, more specifically, a shinobi. What was it like developing her playstyle? Were there any unique elements or challenges in developing her combat and movement to feel Assassin-like but also unique to the franchise as its first shinobi?

Dumont: Gameplay-wise, the fantasy of the assassin and the ninja have a lot in common. When we think about an assassin, we think immediately about stealth, parkour, lethality and brotherhood. We wanted Naoe to really embody those pillars at the core but expand on them in a shinobi way. For example, adding a grappling hook and prone stance to widen her range of actions, making her parkour and combat moves a bit more acrobatic by adding more martial arts influence and flair, adding allies and spies as exploration and gameplay systems.

Q: What can you tell us about Naoe’s background and her father? What was the most pivotal moment for her character before AC Shadows?

Dumont: Naoe is the fictionalized daughter of the legendary shinobi Fujibayashi Nagato. She is from the farmlands of the more remote province of Iga, which is known to be one of the birthplaces of shinobi. In Iga, community is everything as the villagers are bound together by an oath of honor as they resist the Daimyo regime of the surrounding clans and more notably the Oda clan. I do not want to spoil her story, but let’s just say that her family heritage is filled with secrets.

Q: Yasuke is a historical figure who has some records, but ultimately has very limited information available about him. What was it like working with a character where you had some background, but not that much–especially when compared with someone like Nobunaga?

Dumont: The mystery surrounding Yasuke, including his origins and his after the Honno-Ji incident made him a very intriguing character that allowed us to explore of lot of possibilities and gave us some flexibility to expand and fictionalize his narrative. We tried to portray some of the elements that were recorded as a starting point and then we could fill in the big gaps and unanswered questions with our own story.

Q: Yasuke is the first AC protagonist based on a real-world character, even one with limited information. How did this decision come about, and how did it change your typical protagonist design approach?

Dumont: Well, actually you get to play a few scenes with Leonidas in AC Odyssey, but he was not a main protagonist like Yasuke!

After we decided to support the two player fantasies of shinobi and samurai with separate and unique characters, therefore having a dual protagonist structure, we really liked what Yasuke could give us narratively. The unanswered questions around his life made him a very interesting and intriguing protagonist with a lot of mystery. With Naoe being from Japan, Yasuke’s perspective as an outsider also gave us a different point of view that could be used as a bridge between the western world and Japan and create links within the Assassin’s Creed meta story and lore. He is a man lost between two worlds. The way that Yasuke’s story is structured within the overall narrative of the game is very compelling in my opinion, will have players discover him gradually and see how he is connected to the bigger picture.

Q: What can you tell us about the casting of Masumi Tsunoda as Naoe and Tongayi Chirisa as Yasuke? What did they bring to the characters that others did not?

Davies: Masumi was very expressive with her emotions and her core optimism, and really personified the youth and naiveté of Naoe being thrust into this massive conflict but also willing to push for change.

Tongayi possesses a quiet strength that was very charming but also very open and receptive to everyone’s perspective. You could really relate to him learning about this new culture and then embracing it as his own.

Building the World of AC Shadows

Q: The game takes place at a time when guns and cannons would have been newly introduced to Japan, and people would be encountering them for the first time. What is it like for Yasuke and other characters to become introduced to firearms and use them for the first time?

Dumont: The game goes back as early as 1579 and at this point firearms have been introduced in Japan for more than 30 years. In fact, Japan is one of the biggest producers of firearms at this point in time and warlords have incorporated and perfected their use in their military strategies like it was the case in the battle of Nagashino in 1575.

Q: Can you talk about how any Assassin’s Creed Japan lore may have been changed to accommodate for Shadows?

Dumont: Not too much. We decided early in the dev process to void some of the lore from AC Memories as it would potentially spoil or telegraph story elements. It was not an easy decision at the time, but it gave us much more flexibility and allowed us to create more surprises for fans.

Q: What can you tell us about the influence of Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries?

Dumont: The influence of Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries on late Sengoku Japan was profound: introducing firearms, new trade goods, and exposing Japanese people to Western culture and medicine. Portuguese traders brought a variety of goods, including silk, spices, tobacco, and wine, which were highly valued in Japan and led to the establishment of the Nanban trade. This trade fostered economic and cultural exchanges but also sparked fears of colonialism among Japanese leaders.

The introduction of Christianity by Jesuit missionaries, led by figures like Francis Xavier, resulted in the conversion of many Japanese, including some daimyo, raising concerns about their loyalty to foreign powers over their own country. The Jesuits established schools and hospitals, introducing Western education and medical practices, and facilitated cultural exchanges by bringing Western art, science, and technology to Japan.

However, the cultural impact of Western customs and the economic control exerted by Portuguese traders raised alarms about potential foreign domination. These fears of losing political and cultural sovereignty significantly shaped Japan’s cautious approach to foreign interactions during this period.

The Shinbakufu Aren’t The Only Ones in the Shadows

Q: Can you discuss a little bit about the motivations of the Shinbakufu?

Dumont: You will have to discover this by playing the game. But I can say that they are an important shadow faction vying for power in the main narrative, but they are not the only ones.

Q: Likewise, can you discuss a little bit about their designs and masks?

Dumont: We wanted to keep the shinbakufu visual identity secret and mysterious while injecting a bit of sense of a conflicted group. One that is not a cult or strong organization – such as the cult of Kosmos or the Order of the Ancients. This is why they use masks from different spheres of Japanese society ranging from a mempo to a theater mask.

Q: How will they compare, as antagonists, to the groups of Templars and Order of Ancients seen in prior games?

Dumont: All I can say is that there are different factions in the game and things are not always black or white when it comes to their intentions and goals. The Shinbakufu is seeking power and will do the unthinkable to get what they want.

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