Assassin’s Creed Shadowsleaks have reached a new high, with copies being sold early and streams of the game already appearing on Twitch. As one of the most anticipated releases of the year, many eyes have been onShadows. It’s persisted in popularitythrough numerous controversiesanda major release date delay, and is now due out on June 25, 2025.
In a thread on NeoGAF, userDraugothclaims to have seen a post bya user who purchased a copy ofAssassin’s Creed Shadowsa month early via an online secondhand retailer. In a detailed outline of the player’s unofficial review, they corroborate much of what we already know about the game, while also revealing some new information.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Is Being Streamed A Month Before Launch
Some Players Already Have Their Hands On It
Apparently, this isn’t the only person who’s been able to play early.Multiple listings have allegedly already appeared online, with some sellers asking for as much as $100 for their advance copies of the game, according toIGN. It’s unknown how they received these copies so far ahead of launch, but multiple reports and video footage seem to corroborate that multiple players received their copies ofShadowsearly.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Voice Actors On The “Multitudes” Of Naoe & Trophy Hunting Tricks
Assassin’s Creed Shadows actors Miyuri Shimabukuro and Mutsuki Iwanaka talk their in-game roles, trophy hunting, and where the series should go next.
It’s clear thatthese players haven’t been able to access the full release version ofAC Shadowsas of yet, which is likely still in active development - the NeoGAF post claims that, in some cutscenes, NPCs' mouths are not yet animated. However, it’s clearly a much bigger, more open version ofShadowsthanwhat we’ve seen at early previews.
In addition, according to a Reddit post byKvasirTheOld(first spotted byIGN),some players have already begun streamingAssassin’s Creed Shadowsgameplay via X(formerly Twitter).IGNalso claims that several streams ofAC Shadowsappeared on Twitch, although they were quickly taken down.
Several Assassin’s Creed Shadow Leaks Have Been Removed, With More Following Suit
What The Leaks Tell Us
Of course,Ubisoft has been quick to respond to these leaks: streams have rapidly gone offline, and almost every piece of leaked content has been hastily scrubbed from the internet. Listings offering advance copies ofShadowshave also been taken down. Still, it’s clear that quite a few people got an early look atAssassin’s Creed Shadowsthis week, for better or worse.
Leaks have confirmed thatthe game’s dual protagonistsare split up at the beginning: the player in question claims to have started as Yasuke, and then switched to Naoe, and that they haven’t been able to switch characters again nine hours in. They also claim that the plot revolves around the murder of Oda Nobunaga, who’s portrayed as a villain here. And they’re quite positive about the game, comparing it favorably to bothAssassin’s Creed RevelationsandGhost of Tsushima.
Earlier leaks suggestmassive DLC coming toAC Shadowsafter launch.
Alleged gameplay footage streamed on Twitch over the weekend showsa pretty large, open map, as well as a more freely structured character-swapping mechanic, likely captured further into the game. It doesn’t, however, show much of the combat or stealth mechanics.
This latest leak comes after a series of discouraging updates out of Ubisoft, which most recentlyclosed its UK studio, impacting 185 employees. Although this studio isn’t associated withAssassin’s Creed, it signals hard times ahead for Ubisoft, which is likely leaning onShadowsto be a major earner this year. These leaks ofAssassin’s Creed Shadowsare surprisingly positive on its quality, but we’ll have to see whether that holds up at launch.
