Assassin’s Creed Shadows will lead players deep into feudal Japan. With actual historical characters like Yasuke, the African samurai, and perhaps the mythic ninja Hattori Hanzo, Shadows guarantees to mix reality and fantasy in a style that has become signature for the franchise. With Assassin’s Creed Revelations behind them and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag in front of them, this entry falls between two periods of great governmental instability and realignments, promising endless narrative possibilities. Whether Shadows will follow the contemporary storyline is unclear, but its historical context alone guarantees it will be one of the most compelling additions to the Assassin’s Creed canon.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Timeline
Assassin’s Creed Shadows will start in the year 1579, the year Yasuke, one of the two protagonists of the game, came to Japan. Though it is unknown how many years the game would span, records indicate that Yasuke was serving under Oda Nobunaga from 1581 to 1582. This indicates that the timeline of the game would be from 1579 to 1582, and may extend beyond these years.
As far as the Assassin’s Creed timeline goes, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is most similar to Assassin’s Creed Revelations, which is about 68 years earlier. The chronologically next game after Shadows is Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, which is about 135 years after Shadows. This places Shadows in the midst of the big historical happenings, making it more likely to have depth and opportunities for storytelling.
Taking the overall series timeline into account, Assassin’s Creed games have bridged a broad timeline of historical eras, from Assassin’s Creed Odyssey in 431 B.C. to Assassin’s Creed Syndicate in 1868. Assassin’s Creed Shadows will take place between Revelations (1511-1512) and Black Flag (1715-1722), which makes it an interesting addition to the historical journey of the franchise.
It is unclear whether Assassin’s Creed Shadows will include a modern-day narrative, as Assassin’s Creed Mirage understandably bypassed this feature. Unused audio files from Mirage did suggest a possible change in the modern-day narrative with allusions to the 21st century as “ancient history.” So far, however, nothing has come from Ubisoft, and players will have to wait and observe whether Shadows develops a futuristic modern-day component or remains focused entirely on its historical component.
Historical periods | Time Period |
| Assassin’s Creed Odyssey | 431 B.C. – 422 B.C. |
| Assassin’s Creed Origins | 49 B.C. – 44 B.C. |
| Assassin’s Creed Mirage | 861 |
| Assassin’s Creed Valhalla | 872 – 878 |
| Assassin’s Creed | 1191 |
| Assassin’s Creed II | 1476 – 1499 |
| Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood | 1499 – 1507 |
| Assassin’s Creed: Revelations | 1511 – 1512 |
| Assassin’s Creed Shadows | 1579 |
| Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag | 1715 – 1722 |
| Assassin’s Creed Rogue | 1752 – 1760 |
| Assassin’s Creed III | 1754 – 1783 |
| Assassin’s Creed Unity | 1789 – 1794 |
| Assassin’s Creed Syndicate | 1868 |
Hattori Hanzo: A Legendary Assassin in Edo Japan
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is set during Japan’s Edo era, a time with close association to the Assassin’s Creed universe. One of the most renowned figures of that time is Hattori Hanzo, a skilled assassin who worked around the time. Hanzo, who is a historical ninja and one of the central figures of Assassin’s Creed history, could find a place in Shadows, particularly because he was trained in the same province as Naoe, another protagonist of Shadows. His inclusion could provide more depth to the narrative of Shadows, which could tie him into the events of Shadows.
Hattori Hanzo’s Connection to Yasuke and the Sword of Eden
Hattori Hanzo was trained in the ninja arts in the Iga province, which is also home to the Shinobi featured in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Given his history, it’s possible he crossed paths with Yasuke, the other protagonist. Hanzo was instrumental in the Assassin-Templar war of the period, famously assassinating Oda Nobunaga in 1582 to reclaim the mighty Sword of Eden, a relic which Nobunaga had in his possession. This crossover between history and fiction might be the basis for fierce rivalries and alliances in the game.
The Assassin’s Creed timeline includes several major events in the 1500s that could tie into Shadows, many of which revolve around Hanzo. In 1578, he assassinated the Templar Uesugi Kenshin, a move that likely disrupted Templar influence in Japan. Just a few years later, in 1581, the Jesuit missionary Francisco Cabral was forced to resign by another Jesuit and Templar, Alessandro Valignano, who was secretly using his position to recruit for the Templar Order.
One of the most pivotal moments of this period was Oda Nobunaga’s assassination in 1582, though Assassin’s Creed lore attributes his death to the assassin Yamauchi Taka instead of Hanzo. With so many key historical events aligning with Shadows, there’s a strong possibility that the game will explore these connections, allowing players to witness or even participate in the unfolding Assassin-Templar conflict of feudal Japan.
