Ubisoft has delayed the release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows to ensure a refined gaming experience, now set for March 20, 2025. Details about the first expansion, Claws of Awaji, emerged briefly on Steam before being retracted. Scheduled for late 2025, it promises around 10 hours of gameplay, introducing a new weapon type and expanding on the storyline set around Sumoto Castle. Players can pre-order the game for €69.99 on Amazon, with additional cooperative content expected post-launch.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Release Delayed
This Thursday, Ubisoft has made the decision to delay the release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows once again. The postponement is viewed as a necessary step to ensure that the development team can deliver a polished game with minimal technical issues. In the meantime, the English version of the game’s Steam page was updated, revealing intriguing details regarding the first expansion.
Claws of Awaji Expansion Details
However, it appears that these exciting details were released prematurely, as the information was reverted back to its original state shortly after, according to SteamDB history. Initially, two scripted DLCs were meant to be part of a Season Pass, which has since been canceled. Now, the anticipated content will be available to players who pre-order the game.
The upcoming expansion is titled Claws of Awaji and is set for release in late 2025, promising around 10 hours of additional gameplay. It’s yet to be confirmed if this duration covers just the main quest or if it includes side missions as well. In the past, the first two DLCs for Valhalla were said to offer more content, allowing players to invest significantly more time based on their individual playstyles.
A new weapon type, the Bō, will be introduced—a long staff used in specific martial arts, primarily designed for Naoe, rather than Yasuke initially. Additional skills and equipment will also be part of this expansion. As for the storyline, it has been noted that Awaji is an island situated in the Seto Inland Sea, positioned between Honshū and Shikoku, and connected by two major bridges in contemporary times.
Historically, Sumoto Castle is expected to feature prominently, given that Oda Nobunaga’s forces conquered the island during the game’s timeline. One of his generals, Sengoku Hidehisa, was appointed as the daimyo and resided in the castle. The landscape is dotted with numerous temples and shrines, hinting at a treasure story likely tied to the Isu.
Interestingly, a game map was revealed in the collector’s edition video (which has since been made private) showing a sizable island labeled Awaji, despite some notable differences from its real-world counterpart, particularly regarding its distance from Shikoku.
Ultimately, we hope that the narrative elements of these additional contents will be better integrated into the main storyline compared to those in Valhalla, which did little to enhance Eivor’s journey without giving away major plot points. Given Ubisoft Quebec’s involvement in the development of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, there is plenty of optimism surrounding this expansion. Furthermore, it was reported last October that a cooperative mode, codenamed LEAGUE, will also be included in the post-launch content.
The release date for Assassin’s Creed Shadows is now slated for March 20, 2025, and it is available for pre-order for €69.99 on Amazon.
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