Ubisoft will not be releasing a second major expansion for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, despite previous promises of a season pass with several DLCs. Instead, the game will be supported in 2026 with smaller but «more massive» updates rather than full-fledged story expansions.
Ubisoft will not be releasing a second major expansion for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, despite previous promises of a season pass with several DLCs. Instead, the game will be supported in 2026 with smaller but «more massive» updates rather than full-fledged story expansions.
According to IGN, Shadows associate creative director Simon Lemay-Comtois confirmed that there are «no plans to expand the scope of Claws of Awaji» in the second year of support. This DLC of about 10 hours was the first and, apparently, the only major addition to the game, although it was previously positioned as the «first» within the framework of the subsequently canceled season pass.
Ubisoft originally planned to release two major DLCs for Shadows: Claws of Awaji for free to anyone who pre-ordered the game as compensation for the delayed release, with the second expansion expected in the game’s second year. After the change in plans, the company focused on patches and point improvements to quickly respond to community criticism and technical issues.
Lemay-Comtois explains that Shadows was technologically challenging. The team spent a lot of effort updating the engine and moving to a new «generation» of technology. Because of this, a full post-release plan was formed later, and the priority was to provide quick updates rather than produce another large DLC.
The game will continue to be supported in 2026, but in the form of free updates like the recent patch with a new story mission, a collaboration with Attack on Titan, and a big Easter egg about Isa. The developers talk about «less frequent but more massive updates» that will noticeably change the game experience, but will not be full-fledged paid expansions.
Against this backdrop, Ubisoft’s decision seems atypical for the series. Previously, Assassin’s Creed Origins and Odyssey each received two major expansions, and Valhalla received three, plus a standalone game called Mirage, which began as DLC. Now, Shadows will be an experiment with more modest expansions and a focus on responding to feedback rather than selling seasonal content. For fans of the franchise, this means more free «events» and updates, but without another big story on the scale of Claws of Awaji.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows became the third game in the ranking of the most popular games on streaming platforms.
