Yes—Assassin’s Creed Shadows has a relatively accessible 1080p entry point, but only if 30fps on Low with dynamic resolution and upscaling meets your expectations. Ubisoft’s current minimum target uses a GTX 1070-, RX 5700-, or Arc A580-class GPU. Its more useful 1080p/60 target moves up to RTX 3060 Ti-, RX 6700 XT-, or Arc B580-class hardware.
In other words, the game is not unusually demanding for 1080p/30, but “low barrier to entry” does not mean native 1080p/60 on High, comfortable ray tracing, or smooth performance on every laptop with a similar model number.
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The official 1080p PC requirements
Ubisoft’s current U.S. Store listing separates the minimum playable experience from higher frame-rate and resolution targets. The most important distinction is between 1080p/30 on Low and 1080p/60 on Medium.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors| Target | CPU | GPU | Memory | Storage | Preset |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Core i7-8700K or Ryzen 5 3600 | GTX 1070 8GB, RX 5700 8GB, or Arc A580 8GB | 16GB dual-channel | 106GB SSD | 1080p/30, Low |
| Recommended | Core i5-11600K or Ryzen 5 5600X | RTX 3060 Ti 8GB, RX 6700 XT 12GB, or Arc B580 12GB | 16GB dual-channel | 106GB SSD | 1080p/60, Medium |
| Higher 1440p tier | Core i5-11600K or Ryzen 5 5600X | RTX 3080 10GB or RX 6800 XT 16GB | 16GB dual-channel | 106GB SSD | 1440p/60, High |
| Higher 1440p tier | Core i5-11600K or Ryzen 5 5600X | RTX 4070 Super 12GB or RX 7800 XT 16GB | 16GB dual-channel | 106GB SSD | 1440p/60, High |
| Ultra | Core i7-13700K or Ryzen 7 7800X3D | RTX 4090 24GB | 16GB dual-channel | 106GB SSD | 4K/60, High |
Ubisoft’s current Store specification table is the reference for these targets. Ubisoft’s original January 2025 announcement described the 1080p/60 tier as High, whereas the current Store page labels it Medium. That wording change should not be ignored: the live Store listing is the more current reference.
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![Assassin's Creed Shadows Standard Edition - PC Ubisoft Connect [Digital Delivery]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41oxWFKKiQL._SL160_.jpg)
- Become Naoe, a shinobi Assassin, and Yasuke, a legendary samurai, as you experience their riveting stories and master their complementary playstyles.
- Explore the captivating open world of feudal Japan, from spectacular castle towns and bustling ports to peaceful shrines and war-ravaged landscapes.
- Ubisoft Connect account required to download and install.
Why the minimum looks approachable
A GTX 1070 is an older dedicated graphics card, not a modern entry-level or integrated GPU. Nevertheless, it is a much less intimidating minimum than the RTX-class cards required by many recent AAA games. Ubisoft says it deliberately worked to support pre-ray-tracing GPUs, including the GTX 1070.
The minimum target also makes several compromises:
- 30fps rather than 60fps.
- Low settings rather than Medium or High.
- Dynamic resolution and upscaling rather than guaranteed native 1920×1080 rendering.
- Ray tracing disabled or restricted rather than fully enabled.
The game offers five scalability presets and roughly 20 adjustable graphics options. Its rendering technology is designed to let the game reduce internal resolution when necessary to pursue a frame-rate target. A monitor may still receive a 1080p image, but the game can be rendering internally below 1920×1080 before reconstruction.
Ubisoft explains the game’s scalability and ray-tracing choices in its official technology Q&A.
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For the current official 1080p/60 target, think in terms of a competent midrange gaming PC, not merely a computer that meets the minimum table. The RTX 3060 Ti, RX 6700 XT, and Arc B580 are the key GPU class, paired with a Ryzen 5 5600X- or Core i5-11600K-class processor.
Medium is the official starting point. High can be viable on comparable hardware, but it is not guaranteed by the minimum specification and depends on the CPU, upscaling mode, ray-tracing configuration, drivers, and the specific GPU implementation.
Independent testing broadly supports that distinction. OC3D reported more than 60fps at 1080p High with an RTX 3060 Ti and RX 6700 XT when quality upscaling was used and ray tracing was limited. That does not make every RTX 3060 Ti or RX 6700 XT an automatic Ultra card, nor does it mean native rendering produces the same result.
At 1440p and 4K, the official requirements rise sharply. A 1440p/60 High target moves toward RTX 3080-, RX 6800 XT-, RTX 4070 Super-, or RX 7800 XT-class hardware, while the listed 4K/60 target reaches RTX 4090 and high-end modern CPU territory.
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Upscaling, dynamic resolution and frame generation are not interchangeable
These features can make the difference between a playable and an unplayable configuration, but they solve different problems:
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- The Assassin’s Creed Shadows Digital Deluxe Edition includes the base game and the Deluxe Pack.
- Become Naoe, a shinobi Assassin, and Yasuke, a legendary samurai, as you experience their riveting stories and master their complementary playstyles.
- Explore the captivating open world of feudal Japan, from spectacular castle towns and bustling ports to peaceful shrines and war-ravaged landscapes.
- Ubisoft Connect account required to download and install.
- Dynamic resolution changes the internal render resolution during gameplay to pursue a chosen frame rate.
- Upscaling reconstructs the displayed image from a lower-resolution internal image. Ubisoft lists Intel XeSS 2, NVIDIA DLSS 3.7 and AMD FSR 3.1.
- Frame generation creates additional displayed frames from existing frames. It can increase the apparent frame rate, but it does not replace adequate base performance and can affect latency, clarity and frame pacing.
PC Gamer found that results varied considerably by GPU and mode. DLSS Quality with frame generation was more convincing on some hardware, while FSR produced visible shimmering and image artifacts in its testing. DLSS Performance at 1080p could also become noticeably blurry on an RTX 3060 Ti.
For a minimum-class 1080p system, begin with Quality or Balanced upscaling if the image remains acceptable. Do not use frame generation to disguise a system that cannot maintain a reasonable base frame rate.
Ray tracing is optional, but it still affects the hardware target
Assassin’s Creed Shadows includes ray-traced global illumination and reflections, but ray tracing is not an all-or-nothing requirement. The game provides three modes:
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- Diffuse Hideout Only
- Diffuse Everywhere
- Diffuse + Specular Everywhere
Ubisoft says the Hideout uses ray tracing because its extensive customization makes precomputed lighting unsuitable. Normal open-world gameplay does not require ray tracing by default, and the game was designed to support GPUs such as the GTX 1070 that lack hardware ray-tracing acceleration.
On older hardware, start with ray tracing disabled or limited to the Hideout. Enable broader ray tracing only after checking frame-time consistency in demanding open-world areas.
Independent testing adds important qualifications
PC Gamer found that older or lower-tier systems could not maintain 60fps at 1080p even on Low. That is the most important warning against treating the GTX 1070 minimum as a 60fps recommendation.
The publication also found that the built-in benchmark could report somewhat higher performance than actual gameplay on older or lower-tier CPUs. Traversing the open world can expose dips and stutter that a repeatable benchmark sequence does not fully represent.
OC3D’s results were more encouraging for midrange GPUs, with the RTX 3060 Ti and RX 6700 XT reaching 60fps-plus at 1080p High under sensible conditions. However, both testing and the official tiers point to a demanding game once resolution, settings, ray tracing and frame-rate expectations increase.
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- Harness the Spirit of vengeance to inflict brutal combos while mastering powerful new skills and weaponry.
- Exploit the individual fears, weakness and memories of your enemies as you dismantle Sauron's forces from within.
- Become the most feared force in Mordor in a new chronicle set before the events of the Lord of the Rings.
The practical lesson is to judge frame-time consistency and difficult gameplay sections, not only the average number shown by a benchmark.
VRAM matters more than the model name suggests
Ubisoft’s minimum-class GPUs have 8GB of VRAM, and 8GB can be workable at lower or moderate settings. Independent testing indicates that 10GB or 12GB provides more headroom for higher texture settings and demanding traversal.
PC Gamer encountered stuttering on an RTX 4050 laptop with 6GB of VRAM at High. It also found that the RTX 3060 Ti’s 8GB could become limiting at the highest presets and in some traversal situations. That does not mean every 8GB card fails, but it does mean that “RTX” branding or a familiar model number is not enough to predict the result.
Architecture, memory bandwidth, driver support, cooling and power limits all matter. A desktop RTX 3060 Ti is not equivalent to a laptop RTX 3060 or RTX 4050 simply because the names appear in the same product family.
Laptop owners should be especially cautious
Laptop GPUs often operate with substantially lower power limits than their desktop counterparts. Two laptops carrying the same GPU name can therefore deliver different results depending on wattage, cooling and the manufacturer’s configuration.
A laptop with an RTX 4050 or RTX 3060 may require Low settings and a 30fps target even though a desktop card with a similar name performs more comfortably. Check the exact laptop GPU, its power limit, VRAM capacity and independent performance results before treating it as equivalent to Ubisoft’s recommended desktop-class hardware.
Integrated graphics should not be assumed to meet the minimum. Ubisoft’s listed minimum consists of dedicated 8GB GPUs.
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The official requirement is 16GB of dual-channel memory, Windows 10 or Windows 11 with DirectX 12, and a 106GB SSD installation.
The SSD requirement should be treated as mandatory rather than an optional convenience. Do not plan to fill a 106GB drive completely: patches, temporary files, shader data and the operating system need additional free space. A larger SSD is a more practical solution, particularly if the PC also holds other modern games.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Recommended starting settings for older 1080p PCs
These settings are a sensible starting point, not a guarantee for every system:
- Use the Low preset for GTX 1070-, RX 5700- or similar hardware.
- Set a 30fps cap if the system cannot hold 60fps consistently.
- Enable dynamic resolution and start with Quality upscaling where available.
- Disable ray tracing or use Hideout-only ray tracing.
- Use Medium as the starting point for RTX 3060 Ti-, RX 6700 XT- or Arc B580-class hardware.
- Watch VRAM usage when increasing texture quality.
- Run the built-in benchmark, then test real gameplay in a demanding open-world area.
If the benchmark reports 60fps but traversal feels uneven, lower the settings or cap the frame rate. A stable 30fps or 45fps experience is preferable to a fluctuating headline average that produces inconsistent frame times.
Which PCs are good candidates?
| Your hardware | Realistic expectation |
|---|---|
| GTX 1070 or RX 5700 desktop | Meets the official GPU minimum. Start at Low, target 30fps, and use dynamic resolution or upscaling. Do not assume 60fps. |
| RTX 3060 Ti, RX 6700 XT or Arc B580 | Matches Ubisoft’s current 1080p/60 class. Medium is the safe starting point; High may work with sensible upscaling and limited ray tracing. |
| RTX 2060 or similar | Expect compromises. The CPU, VRAM and exact game settings determine whether 30fps or 60fps is realistic. |
| RTX 4050 laptop or other 6GB laptop GPU | Do not compare it directly with desktop recommendations. Lower settings and a 30fps target may be necessary. |
| RTX 3080, RX 6800 XT or better | Better suited to 1440p, though CPU limits, VRAM and ray tracing settings still matter. |
| RTX 4090-class system | Matches Ubisoft’s listed 4K/60 High target more closely, but no specification table guarantees identical performance in every scene. |
What the requirements mean before you buy
If you already own a GTX 1070 or RX 5700-class desktop, the game is worth considering for a 1080p/30 Low experience, provided the CPU, RAM, SSD and cooling also meet the requirements. You probably do not need an immediate GPU upgrade merely to start playing.
If your goal is 1080p/60, the RTX 3060 Ti, RX 6700 XT and Arc B580 class is the more relevant benchmark. If buying used hardware, account for warranty, condition, power-supply requirements and current pricing rather than purchasing by model name alone.
For native 1080p/60 High, plan around that midrange class or better, with at least 8GB of VRAM and preferably 10GB to 12GB for additional texture headroom. For 1440p or 4K, budget for a significantly stronger GPU.
The bottom line is straightforward: Assassin’s Creed Shadows is relatively forgiving at its official 1080p/30 Low entry point, but the barrier rises meaningfully for 60fps, native rendering, high presets and ray tracing. The current requirements confirm accessibility for older dedicated gaming PCs—not universal ease on every 1080p computer.
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Sources
- Ubisoft Store: Assassin’s Creed Shadows PC requirements
- Ubisoft’s original PC specifications announcement
- Ubisoft technology Q&A
- PC Gamer performance analysis
- OC3D performance review and optimization guide
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