Assassin’s Creed Shadows fan theory might have pinpointed the open-world game’s historical setting with a crucial event in Japanese history

Yasuke could play a hugely important role

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Assassin’s Creed Shadowsfans think they’ve worked out where the upcoming game could potentially conclude.

Yesterday,Ubisoftfinally pulled back the curtain onAssassin’s Creed Shadows with its debut reveal trailer, showcasing dual protagonists Yasuke and Naoe, and a setting of 1579. The Reddit post below notes that this setting is intriguing, not least because it takes place three years before the assassination of Oda Nobunaga, Yasuke’s lord, and a mighty figurehead of Japanese history.

This event is known as the ‘Honnō-ji incident,’ where Nobunaga was assassinated by his vassal Akechi Mitsuhide (if you’ve watched FX’s Shogun, that’s Mariko’s father). The post posits that because we know so little about why Mitsuhide ultimately betrayed Nobunaga, Assassin’s Creed Shadows could relatively easily dress it as the series' Assassins versus Templars battle.

With Yasuke one of Shadows' two protagonists, his relationship with Nobunaga could very well be central to the Ubisoft game’s plot. It’s not really a stretch to guess Shadows might feature the Honnō-ji incident in some capacity, but the Reddit user in particular is theorizing that Assassin’s Creed Shadows could wrap up near the event, with Mitsuhide as the game’s main antagonist.

We don’t really know a lot of Yasuke, ultimately. History shows he arrived in Japan in 1579, quite possibly as a servant to the Jesuits, before somehow serving Oda Nobunaga as part of the daimyō’s Kashindan, basically his standing army. If you were in a clan’s Kashindan, you were effectively considered a Samurai - Yasuke didn’t need to fit into the rigid caste system of a Samurai because it’s mostly an invention of the Edo period.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows launches later this year on November 15 for PC,PS5, andXbox Series X/S. We already know thatShadows' open-world map is about the same as Assassin’s Creed Origin’s Egypt, if you’re looking for a comparison point of how large the new game is. Thankfully, that’s a hell of a lot smaller than the imposing map in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows has a grappling hook to let its shinobi character reach places its samurai can’t.

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Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

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