You might have been waiting for years for an Assassin's Creed set in Japan, but Ubisoft thinks right now is "great timing"

Assassin's Creed Shadows will fulfil a long-running wish from fans for Japan as a setting, but Ubisoft thinks that there hasn't been a better time than now to make it.

I can remember as far back as the days of Assassin's Creed 2 where lovers of the series would ask Ubisoft to make a game set in Japan, or even just anywhere in Asia for that matter. It somewhat eventually did that with Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China, but so many years later it's only in 2024 that a game that's set in Japan, Assassin's Creed Shadows, will be in player's hands. But, if you ask the game's art director Thierry Dansereau, it's good that the studio has waited until now to make the game, as it has allowed the devs to work on its "new-gen features" which he believes were "much needed" for a game set in Japan.

"I think it's great timing, though, because it allowed us to really develop the new-gen features, which I think were much needed for such a setting to fully exploit it," Dansereau said in an interview with Play Magazine (via GamesRadar). The developer went on to note Assassin's Creed's "rich history of making games," and made sure to make it clear that Shadows has been made "with the Assassin's Creed pillar in mind." Even though fans have been waiting for a Japan-set game for many years now, Dansereau said he believes that it was "part of our natural evolution to make that setting."

Dansereau also held a presentation at Gamescom last month, which our own Dom was able to attend. There, the art director spoke of how the big thing that is helping Ubisoft make Shadows feel dynamic is, uh, clouds, which you can read about in a bit more detail right here.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is out November 15, and it'll be available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.