“As of now, at this moment for Year Two, there is no expansion on the size of Awaji that is planned, currently. We’re still working on content for post-launch and supporting it, but it’s not a full-on DLC the way a season pass would have had in previous years,” he told YouTuber JorRaptor in a new interview.

Given the mixed reception to Assassin’s Creed expansions over the years (including Claws of Awaji), it’s probably not the worst action. However, there will be sparse but “chunkier updates that shake things up.” For instance, next year’s update will be comparable to the recent Attack on Titan update “at minimum.” Alongside the limited-time collaboration quest, it added a new Isu-focused quest called “A Puzzlement,” with players unlocking a mysterious door.

Granted, the response to both pieces of content (especially the AoT quest) was fairly underwhelming. However, if plans are allegedly still in place, we could see the arrival of a dedicated co-op mode, codenamed League, early next year. One would assume that the Quebec team would have some new content and mechanics alongside the same.

Whether you like the “overperforming” Shadows or not, Year 2 could be the final year of support, according to rumors. Assassin’s Creed Hexe is allegedly slated to launch after, which could mean a release sometime in 2027.

But while Jin Sakai’s quest is the common thread, each of these open-world titles offers something unique, whether it’s in their settings, protagonists or overall direction. Which emerges as the clear favorite? Let’s delve into every single aspect, starting with…

World Design

One of the bigger criticisms surrounding Ghost of Tsushima is how repetitive its world could be – something Ghost of Yōtei addresses immediately. The relative freedom to find your own path is great, but so is the overall layout of the world, as you seamlessly transition from discovering onsens and fighting off wolf poachers to dismantling enemy camps or challenging a disciple of Takezo. The fact that each activity, even within the same category, feels unique and memorable is also a major plus.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is in second place. Even if it features many of the same tenets of the publisher’s open-world formula, the sheer variety in locales, right down to individual castles, is pretty nice, as is the fact that there’s a proper open-world alarm system. But Where Winds Meet is no slouch. Locations like Kaifeng City are packed with things to do, but even if you’re exploring the massive Jianzhu, there’s no shortage of quirky NPCs, interesting side quests and killer geese.

Systemic/Emergent Gameplay

To that end, it feels like there’s always something unique, be it impressive or downright bizarre, to discover in Where Winds Meet. The fact that you can go around stealing from other people, then end up in prison, is only one of several possibilities. Yōtei doesn’t offer as many – Atsu’s only real failure state is death – but the way it handles random encounters, whether it’s bounty hunters, lone assassins or passersby, is well done. It even leverages those to aid in your quest to learn more about the Yōtei Six.

Shadows leans into observing and gathering clues from NPCs to learn more about potential targets. It also has random encounters like helping out someone who’s being attacked or solving a riddle. A decent effort overall, even if it’s slightly behind Yōtei.

Combat

By itself, Yōtei should easily win. It’s an excellent expansion on Tsushima’s fundamentals – just with new weapons (kusarigama, my beloved), abilities, and tactics, which are further expanded on thanks to the new Charms. The overall visceral nature of combat – the precision required for parries and disarms – also keeps it near the top of melee combat titles. That being said, Where Winds Meet, despite how different it is, excels in its own ways, presenting cool over-the-top abilities, fun weapons (like the rope dart), and just overall excellent responsiveness. In that sense, both titles are about on par.

Shadows falls behind, sadly. Its combo system is more robust than previous entries, but the overall feel isn’t anywhere near as smooth as Yōtei or Where Winds Meet. Even its weapons just aren’t as exciting. On the bright side, it does excel in…

Enemy AI

Compared to Yōtei and Where Winds Meet, Shadows’ AI can be pretty deadly, especially if you crank the difficulty settings up. Guards are more sensitive to noises and will investigate more thoroughly, which allows for its main appeal – the stealth – to really shine. Enemies in combat aren’t too shabby either, presenting a decent challenge, especially if you’re surrounded.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Yōtei’s combatants are deadly, perhaps even more so than Tsushima. The toughest duels, especially on Lethal difficulty, could easily rank among some of 2025’s more challenging bosses. However, much like its predecessor, a full assortment of tools, weapons, and techniques makes it easy to sneak about and dispatch large groups.

The enemies in Where Winds Meet aren’t overly bright, but they’re not pushovers either. You’ll still need to think carefully before engaging with tougher threats, especially if your gear isn’t up to snuff. But overall, it’s an easier game to delve into as a whole.

Story

Atsu’s personal quest for vengeance and eventually redemption wins out here, of course. Even if some may bemoan the use of revenge in a major PlayStation title once again, it’s taken in a surprisingly interesting direction with some excellent cinematic panache. The characterization as a whole is also very well done, whether it’s Atsu growing more as a person after years of emotional suffering or Saito’s somewhat sympathetic, but manipulative, thought process.

The main story in Where Winds Meet is, surprisingly, pretty robust. It channels the Wuxia genre with its reliance on the epic tales of heroes during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, while keeping you emotionally invested throughout (especially when it comes to characters like Ruby and Killer Blade). And it’s only up to Chapter 2.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows starts strong enough, but sadly can’t keep the momentum going, dragging in places before suddenly concluding (with Claws of Awaji answering the more pressing questions). The lackluster English voice acting and cutscene direction also don’t help. Naoe and Yasuke are still interesting characters, though.

Quest Quality

Fancy engaging in a tragic ghost hunt for a mystic set of armor? How about taking on bounties and ending up in dangerous hideouts used to train assassins? Ghost of Yōtei has all this and much more. Outside of its open-world activities, the quests are simply immaculate, whether you’re infiltrating a fortress or attending a performance as the, let’s say, lead dancer.

Where Winds Meet may not have that same level of polish and structure, but it makes up for it with some excellent variety. You’ll observe different animals to learn their techniques, embark on Forged Tales, engage in Rhetoric Duels, delve into dungeons, the list goes on. It’s all pretty fun without bogging down the pacing.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows, despite throwing too much at you too quickly, has some fun quests. Infiltrating castles is cool, especially given the different approaches of Naoe and Yasuke, as is having separate quests for them. Spreading objectives across multiple regions, especially when some remain locked, is annoying, but the companion quests, assassination board missions and kuji-kiri quests are pretty good.

Visuals

Once again, Ghost of Yōtei is the winner, though both Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Where Winds Meet put up strong fights. Everything about Yōtei, from the implementation of ray tracing to the extensive draw distance, particle effects, and performance, is top-tier. Very rare frame drops can occur, but on an aesthetic level, it’s simply superb.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows follows it, and say what you will about everything else, its depiction of the late Sengoku-era Kansai is excellent. Atmos provides some stunningly realistic weather effects, further enhancing the environments, and cities feel alive with detailed NPCs. Where Winds Meet is in third but only by a bit – its fidelity doesn’t surpass its competitors, but it’s still shockingly close, especially for a free-to-play game.

Conclusion

To no one’s surprise, Ghost of Yōtei wins out in several categories, from the presentation and story to the world design (and rightfully so). However, Where Winds Meet puts up a great fight, excelling in its own combat fundamentals while presenting a fun world to explore with numerous surprises and an endearing plot. Assassin’s Creed Shadows does excel in stealth, and while the world design, systemic gameplay, and quests can be good (while combat is okay), it falters heavily with its story.

While this proves that Sucker Punch was right on the money when it came to designing Yōtei, it also highlights just how good Where Winds Meet can be, even if you’re looking for a single-player title. The price of entry is pretty much non-existent. Shadows isn’t the worst option by any means, but you should prioritize the others first, depending on the kind of epic journey you desire.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

On Access the Animus, however, associate game director Simon Lemay-Comtois argues their necessity, especially when it comes to post-launch support. “Microtransactions, for all the flak it gets, allows us to do the Isu stuff, the quest stuff, the parkour updates, all of it.”

It’s hard to argue with that, especially given the sheer range of free content, including new story quests, companions, activities like Corrupted Castles, level cap increases, and new abilities. Plus, Naoe is even more fun to control thanks to the advanced parkour additions, and that’s a plus.

The collaboration, however, is a different matter, as fans like The Hidden One on Twitter called it a “total mess.” “Almost 90% of the entire collab quest is just very generic climbing and swinging with really poorly put together routes.” They also called the cutscenes “atrocious”, especially compared to Valley of Memory, a free expansion-sized update for Assassin’s Creed Mirage.

Perhaps even more insulting is that finishing the quest doesn’t provide an outfit (like the Mikasa Ackerman digs). Instead, it directs you to the store to pay for them. Suffice to say, this hasn’t gone down well for some fans.

Of course, Ubisoft claims the title is “overperforming”, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see even more microtransactions to accompany the free content. Rumors claim that a free co-op mode will launch next year, and before that, Shadows is finally arriving on December 2nd for Switch 2.

Sadly, that’s not all. An entire quest is included, which sees Naoe and Yasuke venturing into the Crystal Cave – a perilous environment with dangerous heights. They’re apparently investigating a “terrifying experiment,” and what else should be teased but a potential boss fight against a Titan? The signature syringe and transformation animation certainly seem to indicate as such.

What is Yasuke getting in all this? Why, an armor set with Titan-like stylings, including a creepy grin. Does it make much sense? Not really. Will it cost a bundle? Most likely. Either way, new content is on the horizon, and according to Ubisoft’s roadmap, it’s live tomorrow.

Other new additions include Naoe’s version of the War Kick and Yasuke finally learning how to take down foes in a non-lethal fashion. There’s also “A Puzzlement,” which is supposed to be more lighthearted.

If that wasn’t enough, Assassin’s Creed Shadows will launch on December 2nd for Nintendo Switch 2. It won’t include Claws of Awaji, which is scheduled for release in 2026.

It removes any restrictions from side ejects (which are also getting tweaked for more “freedom of expression”) and back ejects, letting you perform them from any height. Regardless of whether this option is enabled, the base parkour benefits from vertical ledge grabs working on “non-standing objects” (among other things) to the introduction of directional ledge catch.

But that’s not all. Corrupted Castles are also inbound, which essentially ups the difficulty of completed castles, adding anomalies and Samurai Daisho to the mix. Each season will have five Corrupted Castles available. November 25th sees the arrival of Title Update 11, which adds a new special collaboration and “A Puzzlement,” a new “humorous” quest centering around old enemies.

New abilities are also being introduced, including non-lethal stealth kills for Yasuke and Naoe’s own take on the former’s War Kick. Players must also solve a new environmental puzzle, which “may hold the answers to a bunch of questions that you, the community, have been asking for a while,” per Ubisoft. There will also be some “freebies” during the holiday season, so stay tuned.

Available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is also coming to Nintendo Switch 2 on December 2nd. Its expansion, Claws of Awaji, will launch for the platform in 2026.

Of course, it doesn’t include the recently released expansion Claws of Awaji. That’s launching for Switch 2 next year and includes over ten hours of new content, from a new region with fresh threats to a brand new weapon type, the Bo staff. The latter is free for those who own the base game as well, but you can discover higher-rarity variants on Awaji.

Stay tuned for more details on Assassin’s Creed Shadows before it launches for Switch 2 this Winter. It’s currently available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Check out our review for the base game and the expansion in the meantime.

In the aftermath of the news, Axios’ Stephen Totilo has suggested that the sequel was cancelled so Ubisoft could focus more on the development of Assassin’s Creed Codename RED. Taking to Twitter, Totilo said that though the Immortals sequel’s focus on Polynesian mythology was “promising and being handled well”, Ubisoft instead decided to have its Quebec studio focus on the development of the next flagship Assassin’s Creed title.

According to Totilo, with Ubisoft expanding its focus on the Assassin’s Creed franchise, it was decided that Assassin’s Creed Codename RED needed more people working on it (as, interestingly enough, did Codename HEXE, which is being made by Ubisoft Montreal). VGC’s Andy Robinson, who originally broke the story on the cancellation of Immortals’ sequels, also chimed in, saying that the leads on the cancelled title’s development team are “pushing back on being moved” to Assassin’s Creed.

Assassin’s Creed Codename RED will an open world RPG, and will be set in Feudal Japan, though not much else is officially known about the game. Leaks have claimed that it will feature two protagonists – a samurai and a shinobi – and is targeting a 2024 launch.

Notable that Ubisoft's statement says staff is being moved to unannounced projects, which I'm sure is the case for many. But the expectation from people I spoke to close to Ubisoft was that Red could use more people (as does Hexe) as Ubisoft bets on AC for its future

— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) July 28, 2023

I’m told that many Immortals leads are pushing back on being moved to AC. Will be interesting to see how that pans out

— Andy Robinson (@Andy_VGC) July 28, 2023

The company says that as part of its “global strategy”, it has decided to “reallocate” several of its development teams at Ubisoft Quebec to “other projects”, and is now instead choosing to focus on further developing its “biggest brands”.

“As part of our global strategy, we are redirecting and reallocating some creative teams and resources within the Quebec studio to other unannounced projects,” the company says. “The expertise and technologies these teams developed will serve as an accelerator for the development of these key projects focused on our biggest brands. We have nothing further to share at this time.”

Ubisoft’s biggest property of all is, of course, Assassin’s Creed, and it’s no secret that the company is looking to invest even more heavily in the franchise. Across all of Ubisoft, over 2,000 people are already working on Assassin’s Creed, but earlier this year, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said the company will increase the number of people working on the franchise by 40% in the coming years. Recent leaks have also claimed that currently, there are as many as 11 Assassin’s Creed games in some stage of production at Ubisoft.

This is according to a LinkedIn post by Ubisoft business development and brand partnership executive Arisa Lagunzad, discovered recently by Access the Animus on Twitter. The translation says, “We are seeking sponsoring partner for this title Assassin’s Creed Codename RED for next year” and touted it as the “biggest blockbuster.”

Insider Gaming reported last February that the title was targeting a 2024 release and would have two protagonists – a samurai and a shinobi. It’s also focused on stealth and allegedly, despite previous reports of development troubles, is in good shape.

Whether Ubisoft will provide more information in the coming months remains to be seen, especially with titles like XDefiant and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora to come. As such, Marc-Alexis Côté, VP executive producer for the series, said that Codename RED would be supported for “many years with expansions” and “a bunch of things that I will not reveal.” Stay tuned for further updates in the meantime.

It looks like a few months ago the Business Development and Brand Partnership teams at Ubisoft were looking for sponsorship partners for #AssassinsCreed Codename Red in 2024, which could act as a partial confirmation of the game actually being planned for 2024 at the moment! pic.twitter.com/m7mq2z3Gp5

— Access The Animus (@AccessTheAnimus) July 11, 2023

How they’ll play is unknown, but the teaser that Ubisoft revealed seemingly featured the Samurai, who is male and an African refugee. The Shinobi is rumored to have taken up the Creed, which lends well to the project’s rumored focus on stealth. Developer Ubisoft Quebec is apparently taking a Hitman or Splinter Cell-style approach to gameplay.

You can hide in tall grass, conceal bodies and extinguish lights to hide your shadows. Though the game is internally targeting a Fall 2024 launch, it may be a while before it’s revealed. Insider Gaming reported that Ubisoft is focusing on the gameplay premiere of Assassin’s Creed Mirage and the announcement of Assassin’s Creed Nexus, a VR title. Stay tuned in the meantime for more updates.