Ubisoft Explains How Historical Research Shaped Assassin's Creed: Shadows
In a recent interview with Game Rant, Ubisoft developers shared insights into how historical research influenced the development of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows. The discussion focused on one of the most debated aspects of the game—historical accuracy.
The team began studying feudal Japan early in development, enlisting in-house historians and collaborating with external experts and museums. At one point, some team members even traveled to Japan to immerse themselves in the country’s culture.
One of the more intriguing historical discoveries involved Noh theater. The developers wondered whether audiences applauded actors at the time and found out that clapping only became a tradition in the 19th century.
The most interesting fact about Japanese castles of the period is that many of them were quite literally — for lack of a better term — “level-designed” to mislead would-be invaders, with natural choke points and dead-ends where archers could rain down fury on troops below. This also applied to lone attackers too, with the use of hidden chambers where samurai could hide in wait in case a particular audience went south, as well as the use of nightingale floors – a purpose-built creaking floor that would alert anyone within earshot if an unwanted presence was moving closer.
The single biggest challenge for us then, was to build our castles to offer enough clarity to help guide players in the maze-like architecture that is so emblematic of the period.
Assassin’s Creed: Shadows launches on March 20 for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5. Recently, new details about the game’s base-building mechanics surfaced online.