Assassin's Creed Shadows will take upwards of 80 hours for completionists, creative director confirms, and Ubisoft is considering adding New Game+ post launch

Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Assassin's Creed Shadows is going to be another chunky game for anyone who wants to complete everything they possibly can in the upcoming feudal Japan jaunt, as creative director Jonathan Dumont confirms it could take upwards of 80 hours for completionists.

Previously, Dumont rather confusingly stated that "Shadows' main journey is comparable to Origins/Odyssey and Valhalla," suggesting that the main story could take anywhere between 30 and 60 hours to complete, which was a very large range of time to give. Now though, in an interview with Twitter user @Genki_JPN, he's clarified that you can expect the campaign to be roughly 30 to 40 hours long, but it sounds like completionists can get ready to at least double that.

Genki reports that, with side content, Assassin's Creed Shadows will be "above 80 hours or much more," so it sounds like there'll be plenty of things to do to keep us busy. New Game+ won't be included at launch, as Dumont confirms that Ubisoft is considering adding it (and other modes) later down the line based on player feedback.

It's already been confirmed that you won't miss out on a massive amount of content if you favor one of the two playable protagonists over the other, as the game "adapts" to whoever you choose most of the time (introductions and exclusive quests aside). What's more, all of Shadows' achievements can be earned in just one playthrough, so you won't be forced to go back in for a second run if you're just after that Platinum trophy. Even so, we'll just have to wait and see if that New Game+ option eventually does arrive.

I figured Assassin's Creed Shadows' Red Bull collab would just be some naff cosmetics, but it's actually a pair of surprisingly useful gameplay boons for Naoe and Yasuke.

Catherine Lewis
News Writer

I'm one of 12DOVE's news writers, who works alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.

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