Assassin's Creed Shadows won't be on Steam, doesn't require always-online internet connection

Contrary to what you might've read, Ubisoft's new Assassin's Creed Shadows game can be played entirely offline.

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Assassin's Creed fans rejoice: Ubisoft is finally making a game set in feudal Japan. It's called Assassin's Creed Shadows, and it'll take place in 16th century Japan during Oda Nobunaga's bloody quest to unify the country by force. Shadows also features two protagonists--a samurai and a ninja--and you'll be able to switch between them as you play.

Since the reveal, there's been two somewhat new tidbits of info to come out. The first is that AC Shadows won't be on Steam, and will instead be on the Epic Games Store and Ubisoft Store on PC. That's despite the fact that all 3 of the most recent mainline Assassin's Creed games are on Steam, including AC Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla.

The second is that Shadows isn't an online-only game. Controversy started to spread thanks to a PlayStation Store listing that seemed to indicate that an online connection was required to play. Now the listing has been updated, saying that online play is optional in AC Shadows.

"Assassin's Creed Shadows will not require a mandatory connection at all times," Ubisoft today clarified.

"An online connection will be needed to install the game, but you will be able to play the entire journey offline, and explore Japan without any online connection."

As for Shadows skipping Steam, the platform is missing from the platform availability mentioned in the game's blog post announcement:

"Assassin's Creed Shadows takes the franchise to 16th century Japan when it launches on November 15 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Amazon Luna, Macs with Apple silicon via the Mac App Store, PC through the Ubisoft Store and the Epic Games Store, and as part of a Ubisoft+ Premium subscription."