Assassin's Creed Shadows' Placement on The Timeline Explained

Highlights

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the first mainline game in the franchise set in Feudal Japan, featuring two unique protagonists.
The game will start in 1579 and could span several years, potentially exploring events involving notable characters like Hattori Hanzo.
The timeline of Assassin’s Creed sees Shadows placed between Assassin’s Creed Revelations and Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is set to be the next game in the Assassin’s Creed franchise and will be set in Feudal Japan. The game will follow two protagonists, the Shinobi Naoe, and the Samurai Yasuke. Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the first time that a mainline entry in the Assassin’s Creed franchise will be set in Japan.

An Assassin’s Creed game set in Japan has been in demand for some time, and Ubisoft is finally delivering it. Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the first Assassin’s Creed game in some time that isn’t set in ancient history, as it will take fans to an interesting point within Assassin’s Creed’s timeline that hasn’t been explored in the games until Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Pivot Blade Explained

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is officially bringing back the Pivot Blade, which was first introduced almost twelve years ago in Assassin’s Creed 3.

When Does Assassin’s Creed Shadows Take Place on The Timeline?

When Assassin’s Creed Shadows Takes Place

The number of years that Assassin’s Creed Shadows will span is unclear, but Ubisoft has confirmed that the game will begin in 1579. The year 1579 is the year that Yasuke, one of the two protagonists, arrived in Japan. Considering that Yasuke served Oda Nobunaga from 1581 to 1582, it’s quite possible that the game will take place over the years of 1579 to 1582, and perhaps after those years.

The Assassin’s Creed game nearest to Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ on the timeline is Assassin’s Creed Revelations. Assassin’s Creed Revelations took place around 68 years before Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag is the next game in the timeline and takes place roughly 135 years after Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – 431 B.C. to 422 B.C.
Assassin’s Creed Origins – 49 B.C. to 44 B.C.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage – 861 to ???
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – 872 to 878
Assassin’s Creed – 1191
Assassin’s Creed 2 – 1476 to 1499
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood – 1499 to 1507
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations – 1511 to 1512
Assassin’s Creed Shadows – 1579 to ???
Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag – 1715 to 1722
Assassin’s Creed Rogue – 1752 to 1760
Assassin’s Creed 3 – 1754 to 1783
Assassin’s Creed Unity – 1789 to 1794
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate – 1868

Assassin’s Creed Shadows and the Modern-Day Timeline

It’s uncertain whether Assassin’s Creed Shadows will feature a modern-day storyline, considering Assassin’s Creed Mirage skipped the modern-day segment. However, there were some unused audio files that were discovered for Assassin’s Creed Mirage that suggested that the modern-day storyline could be moving into the future. Within the unused audio files, there was a line referring to the 21st century as “ancient history”.

Ubisoft hasn’t revealed anything about the modern-day segment or if Assassin’s Creed Shadows will feature one. So, players will just have to wait and see if the game will include a modern-day segment or not, and if there is, Assassin’s Creed‘s modern-day segment could actually be set in the future.

What Happened in the Years That Assassin’s Creed Shadows Takes Place in?

Assassin's Creed Shadows' Naoe standing in front of a hideout

The Assassin Hattori Hanzo

Assassin’s Creed Shadows takes place in the Edo period of Japan, and there are some significant events that happened in the Assassin’s Creed franchise within the Edo period. Most notably, the assassin Hattori Hanzo was active during the time. Hattori Hanzo is a Japanese assassin within the Assassin’s Creed franchise, and there’s a possibility that he will appear in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Especially since he is trained in the same province that the protagonist, Naoe, is from.

Hattori Hanzo was trained in the ninja arts in the Iga province, in which the Shinobi are from within Assassin’s Creed Shadows. He would possibly have crossed paths with Yasuke, as Hattori killed Oda Nobunaga in 1582 to retrieve the Sword of Eden, which Nobunaga possessed.

Events Within Assassin’s Creed’s 1500s That Could Tie Into Assassin’s Creed Shadows

There are quite a few notable events that happened in the Assassin’s Creed universe’s version of Japan that could tie into Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Unsurprisingly, most of them surround the assassin, Hattori Hanzo.

The Templar Uesagi Kenshin was assassinated by Hattori Hanzo in 1578.
The Jesuit missionary, Francisco Cabral, was forced to resign by the Jesuit (and Templar) Alessandro Valignano in 1581.
Alessandro used his Jesuit position to find new recruits for the Templar Order in 1581.
Oda Nobunaga was killed by the assassin Yamauchi Taka in 1582.

Considering that Alessandro and Oda Nobunaga both had connections with Yasuke, it’s highly likely that players will see at least some of these events (or hear a reference to them) in

Assassin’s Creed Shadows
. The first event listed likely happens before the events of

Assassin’s Creed Shadows
, and thus players will likely only hear it mentioned, but the rest are absolutely on the table.