No, Assassin’s Creed Shadows won’t be online only

By Carli Velocci May 16, 2024

Yasuke in Assassin's Creed Shadows. — Ubisoft

Despite fan concerns that the recently announced Assassin’s Creed Shadows would be online-only, Ubisoft has confirmed that this won’t be the case.

The Assassin’s Creed team posted a statement on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday to clarify that the game would only need an online connection to install, and then can be played completely offline after.

“Assassin’s Creed Shadows will not require a mandatory connection at all times,” the post read.

An update from the team on Assassin's Creed Shadows. pic.twitter.com/PTY9TXSiEo

— Assassin's Creed (@assassinscreed) May 16, 2024

The confusion started when players noticed that multiple retail pages for Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ seemed to imply an internet connection would be required to play the game. The PlayStation Store page, for example, had the disclaimer, “Online play required.” (It’s worth noting that now it says, “Online play optional.”) Users on Reddit and X interpreted this to mean the game would require an online connection to play.

“Assassin’s Creed: Red Flag,” said one Redditor. Others likened it to a glorified rental that they won’t be able to play in a few years.

Online-only games can be quite controversial, especially when they don’t have multiplayer components. Players in areas with steady internet connections are constantly online, so it might not be an issue for them. Many people don’t have that privilege, though, and wouldn’t be able to connect to a hypothetical always-online Assassin’s Creed game. Plus, if a studio stops supporting an online-only game, it risks becoming unplayable for owners.

Requiring an online connection for installation isn’t new for Ubisoft. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora also needed a player to be online to install it, but then it could be played offline.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is set to be released on Nov. 15 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Mac, and Amazon Luna.

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Carli is a technology, culture, and games editor and journalist. They were the Gaming Lead and Copy Chief at Windows Central…

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