Ubisoft Explained Why We Had to Wait So Long for Assassin's Creed Game Set in Japan
The lead producer of Assassin's Creed: Shadows gave reasons why we had to wait so long for an installment of the series set in Japan.
A lot has already been said about the upcoming Assassin's Creed: Shadows, but the gaming community is likely eager to learn more details about this installment of the iconic series. Thanks to an interview conducted by GamesIndustry with the game's lead producer, Karl Onnee, we learned why the long-awaited adventure in Japan could only be developed now.
According to the lead producer, AC: Shadows was created for 4 years, which he considers a period that allowed for maintaining the perfect balance between the first concept and the actual production. It's important to note that the game has become the longest-developed installment of the Assassin's Creed series, surpassing Valhalla by 25% in terms of development time.
[Game development] is always a balance between time and costs [...]. Four years, I think, is the right balance to go from conception to production and get the feedback necessary to adapt.
Regarding the prolonged wait for "Assassin" in Japan, Onnee attributes it to technical challenges. Now that a new version of the engine has been developed for the series and the hardware is more efficient, the devs can fully present their vision to players.
It is something [AC in Japan] we have always wanted to do, but we wanted to find the right time. [...] we have the power in terms of the hardware, but also our new version of the engine, so we could really deliver our vision. It was important for us to have things like light and shadows, which is very performance hungry. And things like dynamic weathers.
In another part of the conversation, Onnee recalls how work on AC: Shadows began. He points out that it was initiated by internal consultations, which then turned into discussions with historians and experts. Next, the Ubisoft team visited Japan to explore the locations where the game's action will take place.
The French company doesn't hide the fact that one of its goals is to increase the fan base of the Assassin's Creed's fans in Japan. However, this can be quite difficult, as few Western action games achieve great success there. One of the exceptions is Ghost of Tsushima – the Japanese bought the title from the American studio Sucker Punch Productions in over a million copies.
Since we've already mentioned the game of Sucker Punch, it's worth adding that its protagonist, Jin Sakai, used a grappling hook. Naoe (one of the two playable characters in AC: Shadows) will have the same tool at her disposal. Ubisoft showed us how her skills related to this item look in practice in a recent material.
Assassin's Creed: Shadows will be released on November 15, 2024, on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.
