'It's been a challenge': Assassin's Creed Shadows and the quest to bring feudal Japan to life

More than four years after its announcement and after two last-minute delays, the latest title in Ubisoft's historical fiction series Assassin's Creed will finally be released on Thursday. Set in Japan in 1579, a time of intense civil war dominated by the feudal lord Oda Nobunaga, it follows two characters navigating their way through the bloody chaos: a female shinobi named Fujibayashi Naoe, and Yasuke, an African slave turned samurai. Japan has been the series' most-requested setting for years, Ubisoft says. "I've been on [this] franchise for 16 years and I think every time we start a new game, Japan comes up and we ask, is this the time?" says executive producer Marc-Alexis Coté. "We've never pushed beyond the conception phase with Japan until this one." The game comes at a crucial time for Ubisoft after the disappointing performance of last year's titles Star Wars Outlaws, Skull and Bones and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, and the expensive closure of live service shooter XDefiant.