How big is Assassin’s Creed Shadows? Devs detail map size

Ubisoft has put out some chunky games with their last few releases so if you’re wondering how big Assassin’s Creed Shadows will be, we’ve got you covered.

After a quick detour with Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Ubisoft is returning to the larger-scale RPG style of play that the franchise has adopted. Assassin’s Creed Shadows takes the formula to the closing stages of Japan’s Sengoku period.

Opinions have been mixed in the lead-up to the game’s release with some calling what we’ve seen of Assassin’s Creed Shadows a “huge improvement” while others have called out its apparent inauthenticity. If you’re quietly optimistic about the idea of stepping into the shoes of the ninja Naoe or the samurai Yasuke, you might have some lingering questions.

Given the scale of previous entries to the franchise, we thought it would be prudent to answer how big Assassin’s Creed Shadows will be and how long a playthrough might take. Some insights from the developers help paint a picture.

How big is the playable area of Assassin’s Creed Shadows?

In an interview with IGN, Creative Director of Assassin’s Creed Shadows Jonathan Dumont reiterated that the game will be of a similar scale to recent mainline entries in the franchise. This excludes Assassin’s Creed Mirage which was notably more condensed than titles like Odyssey or Valhalla. Shadows looks to have a slightly smaller map than those games too, however.

“It’s in line with the latest Assassin’s Creeds that we’ve done,” Dumont explained. “On a scale level, maybe we can compare it a little bit more to the size of Assassin’s Creed Origins.”

This will be music to the ears of anyone who found trudging around Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s medieval England a bit of a chore. Even at this smaller scale, an area as large as Assassin’s Creed Origins should still afford players plenty of activities.

How long is Assassin’s Creed Shadows?

While this question has yet to be answered definitively by devs, there’s room for reasonable speculation. Veterans of the Assassin’s Creed franchise will know that the length of these games is often governed by how long it takes to get around the world. There’s obviously some room for variance here but it’s a solid metric to start with.

With a playable area roughly the size of Origins, we can infer that Assassin’s Creed Shadows should take a similar amount of time to this particular predecessor. According to aggregator HowLongToBeat, Origins takes roughly 30 hours to finish if you beeline the game’s main story content. Those looking to do a completionist run can expect to spend about 85 hours in the game.

Given Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ comparative size, it’s reasonable to expect a similar length for both the campaign-focused and completionist playthroughs. When more concrete information emerges about the game’s length, we’ll be sure to update readers.