Assassin’s Creed Shadows will probably not be getting a second DLC. Our author Jesko is extremely annoyed that Ubisoft no longer wants to make the most of the Japanese adventure.
Assassin’s Creed has had new bosses for a few days now. As part of Ubisoft’s company-wide restructuring, Jean Guesdon has been appointed the new Head of Content for the Assassin’s Creed series. He is responsible for the overall creative direction of the brand.
On March 4, the new creative boss made his first personal appearance with an update on the status of the brand. Among other things, the Black Flag remake, which the entire internet had already known about for months.
But instead of joy, as a big Shadows fan, I am disappointed by the announcements made yesterday evening. Because Guesdon’s choice of words regarding the Japanese adventure could not be more damning:
“Shadows is now entering its final support phase. We will be phasing things out with smaller, less frequent updates.”
This seals the fate of Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Fans who had hoped for a second major story DLC until the very end will be disappointed. Ubisoft is letting the game fade away unspectacularly without any real new content.
My opinion: Shadows doesn’t deserve this fate. The Japan AC was one of the best installments in the series in a long time and still had so much untapped potential.
The setting everyone wanted
The story of Shadows got off to a promising start. With feudal Japan, Ubisoft finally gave us the scenario that many players had always wanted for the Assassin’s Creed series. Ever since Ubisoft started experimenting with different settings, a ninja AC was at the top of fans’ wish lists.
However, several controversies then arose: both main characters – a female shinobi and an African samurai – were criticized, with accusations that Ubisoft was treating Japanese culture disrespectfully.
And then Shadows had to be postponed twice because the developers weren’t satisfied with the quality of the game and needed more time to polish it. Our tester Dimi also feared the worst until the launch.
Too good to be shelved
In terms of gameplay, however, Shadows was damn convincing. Compared to the previous installments, it noticeably expanded the stealth part and finally struck a serious tone again in the story. Each of our mission objectives came with a credible motivation and wasn’t just a cookie-cutter villain. And with each subsequent update, Shadows got even better.
That’s exactly why it annoys me so much that it’s supposed to end here. After all, even worse Assassin’s Creed games have received significantly more content in recent years – yes, I’m looking at you, Valhalla. The controversial Viking AC was supplied with updates and DLCs for over two years after its launch at the end of 2020.
Sure, back then, the French publisher still had money to burn. That’s no longer the case after Ubisoft’s poor last few financial years and the fundamental restructuring with partner Tencent – most recently, six projects were completely shelved.
But the fact that Assassin’s Creed Shadows is now being affected annoys me as an old AC fan and lover of Japan beyond measure. Shadows is simply too good to be dropped just like that. And I’m not the only one who thinks so – after all, according to a survey of GameStar readers, Shadows is one of your favorite Assassin’s Creeds.
The DLC that never was
In addition, significantly more post-launch content was apparently planned before the launch of Shadows. In an interview in early 2025, Associate Game Director Simon Lemay-Comtois revealed to me that new content had been planned for about two years – comparable to the previous series installments Valhalla and Odyssey.
According to several leaks, the original Season Pass would have included a second, extensive DLC that would have taken us to the present-day Mie region.& nbsp;A first concept art shows the famous Futami Okitama Shrine in the city of Ise during cherry blossom season and gives an inviting preview of a region that we will probably never get to see in Shadows.
It really hurts that AC Shadows won’t get a second expansion, especially after that Shima concept art
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Mie would have been such an interesting setting for a DLC. The area is home to the highest sanctuary of the Japanese Shinto faith. There, the goddess Amaterasu, the ancestress of the Japanese imperial family, is worshipped. A DLC set here would have offered great potential for an excursion into Japanese mythology or a connection to the Isu cosmos.
And some other open story threads from Shadows would certainly have benefited from completion. Yasuke’s personal journey in particular, or the connection between the Jesuit priests and the Templar Order, would have offered so much narrative scope for an expansion.
And finally, Shadows probably deserved a DLC because, strictly speaking, the first expansion, Claws of Awaji, only told the end of the game’s main story.
But then everything changed for Shadows. The planned Season Pass was canceled in the wake of the delays. Budgets that had been set aside for later updates were presumably used up. And that may ultimately be the sticking point. Because Ubisoft is currently cutting costs wherever it can. In fiscal year 2025, layoffs saved over 200 million euros, and another 100 million are expected to be saved by 2027. Investing more money in expansions for a game that is unlikely to break the record sales of AC: Valhalla, simply does not seem worthwhile to Ubisoft in the current situation.
In the end, it’s Japan fans like me who lose out. Because Shadows leaves many possibilities of its ingenious setting untapped.
Admittedly, hope is not yet lost. After all, Assassin’s Creed Mirage also received a major story update more than two years after its release.
However, according to French media reports, Ubisoft had this paid for by the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund (PIF).
And who knows… maybe the Japanese government will also come up with the idea of loosening the purse strings a little for a second Assassin’s expansion. But until that happens, further support for AC Shadows seems unlikely, unfortunately.
