Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Keith Stuart

‘It’s been a challenge’: Assassin’s Creed Shadows and the quest to bring feudal Japan to life

Caused a furore … the protagonists of Assassin’s Creed Shadows are Yasuke – a samurai based on a historical figure – and female ninja Fujibayashi Naoe.
Caused a furore … the protagonists of Assassin’s Creed Shadows are Yasuke – a samurai based on a historical figure – and female ninja Fujibayashi Naoe. Photograph: Ubisoft

More than four years after its announcement and after two last-minute delays, the latest title in Ubisoft’s historical fiction series Assassin’s Creed will finally be released on Thursday. Set in Japan in 1579, a time of intense civil war dominated by the feudal lord Oda Nobunaga, it follows two characters navigating their way through the bloody chaos: a female shinobi named Fujibayashi Naoe, and Yasuke, an African slave turned samurai. Japan has been the series’ most-requested setting for years, Ubisoft says.

"I've been on [this] franchise for 16 years and I think every time we start a new game, Japan comes up and we ask, is this the time?” says executive producer Marc-Alexis Coté. “We've never pushed beyond the conception phase with Japan until this one."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.