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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteUbisoft Quebec’s four-year journey making Assassin’s Creed Shadows ran from the start of production to the game’s 2025 release. Studio managing director Nathalie Bouchard recalls a large, collaborative effort shaped by returning colleagues, research into Japan, two contrasting protagonists and technical ambitions. Her account is a retrospective from inside the studio—not an independently audited production history.
What Ubisoft means by a four-year journey
In an April 8, 2025 retrospective, Bouchard said she joined Ubisoft Quebec at the beginning of production and looked back over the four years leading to release. She described the project’s scale, its production milestones and the return to in-person studio work after pandemic confinement as defining parts of the experience. Ubisoft Quebec’s retrospective presents the cycle through her perspective as studio managing director.
Bouchard also reflected on the range of roles involved in making a game, saying, “What really surprised me was the role of technology in video game development and the multitude of professions involved in the process.”
Quebec led a wider Ubisoft collaboration
Ubisoft Quebec City was the lead studio, but the game was not made by an isolated team. Ubisoft’s launch material thanks colleagues in Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, Sherbrooke and Saguenay; its art-development feature credits teams around the world for work on the game’s world and characters. Ubisoft’s launch announcement and art-development feature describe that broader contribution.
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- Only at Amazon Limited Edition Content includes the base game and Sekiryu Character Pack
- Explore the captivating open world of feudal Japan, from spectacular castle towns and bustling ports to peaceful shrines and war-ravaged landscapes. Adventure through unpredictable weather, changing seasons, and reactive environments.
- Become Naoe, a shinobi Assassin, and Yasuke, a legendary samurai, as you experience their riveting stories and master their complementary playstyles.
- Make information your weapon as you explore the world, and build your own network of spies to be your eyes and ears across locations to hunt down your next target. Along the way, recruit new allies with unique abilities to help accomplish your missions.
- Create a fully customizable hideout for your growing shinobi league as you train your crew, craft new gear, interact with key characters, and choose your base’s layout, decorations, and accessories.
In a March 2025 interview with MobileSyrup, game director Charles Benoit described an ongoing exchange with Ubisoft Montreal: “We learn from them, they learn from us, so it’s always a learning process in terms of what you can do and production.” The production also drew on experience from earlier Ubisoft Quebec projects, including Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Immortals Fenyx Rising. Bouchard said familiarity among core team members helped their communication through a demanding project.
MobileSyrup reported around 600 employees at Ubisoft Quebec, compared with 4,000 in Montreal, at the time of its 2025 article. Those are approximate staffing figures, not a count of the developers who worked on Shadows.
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- ENTER FEUDAL JAPAN - Explore the captivating open world of feudal Japan, from spectacular castle towns and bustling ports to peaceful shrines and war-ravaged landscapes. Adventure through unpredictable weather, changing seasons, and reactive environments.
- MASTER COMPLEMENTARY PLAYSTYLES - Become Naoe, a shinobi Assassin, and Yasuke, a legendary samurai, as you experience their riveting stories and master their complementary playstyles. As Naoe, use stealth to avoid detection and agility to confound your enemies. As Yasuke, strike your foes with lethal precision and power. Unlock new skills, gear, and progression independently for each character.
- MAKE INFORMATION YOUR WEAPON - Travel the world and build your own network of spies to be your eyes and ears across locations to hunt down your next target. Along the way, recruit new allies with unique abilities to help accomplish your missions
- BUILD A PLACE TO CALL HOME - Create a fully customizable hideout for your growing shinobi league as you train your crew, craft new gear, interact with key characters, and choose your base’s buildings layout, decorations, and accessories.
How the team approached its Japanese setting
Shadows is set in the late-sixteenth-century Azuchi-Momoyama era, amid Japan’s unification in the late Sengoku period. Art director Thierry Dansereau told MobileSyrup that the team worked with Japanese experts, external partners and Ubisoft’s Japanese studios, and consulted films and museum databases. He also described visits to Japan and engagement with the community during development.
Dansereau acknowledged the challenge of approaching Japanese culture as North American developers. The interview reports methods the team used; they do not, by themselves, establish that every historical or cultural detail in the finished game is exact. Masumi, the actress and singer-songwriter who plays Naoe, said she discussed language, mannerisms and cultural details with the team for voiceover and cinematics.
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![Assassin's Creed Shadows [PlayStation 5]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51cgBmgsqGL._SL160_.jpg)
- Experience an epic, historical action adventure in feudal Japan and become a deadly Shinobi assassin and a powerful legendary samurai as you explore a beautiful open game world in chaotic times
- Sneak as a Naoe to not be discovered, use your agility to confuse your opponents and stretch down your opponents with deadly precision and power as a Yasuke
- Use information as weapons and build your own spy network to have eyes and ears everywhere and find your targets easier and recruit new allies on the go with unique skills to help you with your missions
- Create a fully customizable hideaway for your growing Shinobi league, where you train recruits, craft new equipment and interact with important characters; set the room layout, decoration and accessories yourself
Why Naoe and Yasuke play differently
Ubisoft framed the two protagonists as distinct gameplay fantasies rather than interchangeable versions of the same character. Naoe is an agile, stealth-focused shinobi; Yasuke is a powerful, combat-oriented samurai. The pairing connects the series’ stealth roots with a more recent emphasis on intricate melee combat, according to Ubisoft’s art-development feature.
That contrast also gives the setting a practical role in play: the game’s environments and conditions can create different opportunities for stealth and direct combat, rather than serving only as scenery.
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- BECOME A FEARSOME PIRATE- Strike fear in your foes as you board and sink enemy vessels as Edward Kenway, captain of the Jackdaw. Whether blending into crowds or leading daring assaults, switch between silent takedowns and fierce brawls as you effortlessly wield swords, pistols, and the Hidden Blade. With a cast of historical pirate legends at your side, defy empires amidst the age-old conflict opposing Assassins and Templars.
- A CLASSIC REBUILT FOR AN ENHANCED EXPERIENCE- Combat has been rebuilt for more dynamic encounters, emphasizing parries and takedowns, while stealth and parkour have been improved for smoother escapes and assassinations. Continuously upgrade the Jackdaw to face powerful enemy ships with enhanced naval mechanics featuring new alternate fire modes. Quality-of-life additions also address previous pain points, ensuring your experience is improved.
- THE CARIBBEAN LIKE NEVER BEFORE- Whether you’re sailing the open seas or journeying across untamed lands, discover a seamless open world built with the latest Anvil engine. Take in sweeping vistas as you brave stormy waters, dive into underwater shipwrecks, or push through dense tropical jungles. Enhanced by features such as Dolby Atmos and ray tracing, every scene feels more immersive, bringing the world’s beauty to life.
- EXPANDING EDWARD’S ADVENTURE- Building on top of the original story, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced introduces exclusive new content. Familiar faces will return, with new storylines dedicated to fan-favorite characters such as Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet. Unexpected allies will also cross your path, as three officers join you on your journey as part of the main narrative. More surprises await, such as new sea shanties, pets, a photo mode, and more.
Technology shaped the world and its conditions
Ubisoft’s September 12, 2024 technical feature described Shadows as the first Assassin’s Creed built solely for current-generation hardware. It highlighted ray-traced global illumination, micro-polygon technology, destructible objects, dynamic weather and seasonal changes as ways to build a more interactive world. These are Ubisoft’s descriptions of design and technology, not independent performance measurements. See Ubisoft’s technical account.
The same feature explains how conditions can alter play: rain can muffle footsteps, darkness can reduce enemy detection, and frozen ponds can remove underwater cover. Seasonal changes are intended to make locations look and feel different, while weather can change the options available to players.
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What the studio says it learned
Bouchard said the studio needed to pause after launch, identify lessons from the production cycle and use them to establish stronger foundations for its next game. Her stated aim was to determine “how we can improve the way we make games.” That is a leadership reflection on future process, not a published schedule metric or an independently measured assessment of production outcomes.
Ubisoft’s launch announcement listed PS5, PS5 Pro, Xbox Series S|X, PC, macOS, GeForce NOW, Luna, ROG Ally, Ally X and MSI Claw, and said the game was compatible with Steam and Steam Deck from launch. Availability and compatibility can change; consult Ubisoft’s launch announcement and current platform listings for up-to-date details.
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