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Assassin’s Creed Shadows is roughly similar in territory to Assassin’s Creed Origins, and smaller than Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, according to Ubisoft associate game director Simon Lemay-Comtois. Ubisoft has not published a square-kilometre figure for the map. A separate estimate by GamesRadar+ puts its extent at about 14 km north to south and just under 10 km east to west, measured between selected landmarks—not as an official area calculation.
How big is the Assassin’s Creed Shadows map?
The clearest official answer is a comparison, not a number: Lemay-Comtois said the map is “roughly similar” in size to Origins and smaller than Valhalla in territory. That describes relative territory; it does not establish identical land area or travel time between games.
For a rough sense of its span, GamesRadar+ measured about 14 km from Sotomo Cave in Wakasa to Hashigui-iwa Overlook in Kii, and just under 10 km from Kashiwabara Tower viewpoint in Omi to Miyazu Ship Mainmast viewpoint in Tamba. Those are landmark-to-landmark distances reported by the outlet, not an official Ubisoft measurement or a square-kilometre total.
Is the map bigger than Origins or Valhalla?
| Game | Comparison with Shadows |
|---|---|
| Assassin’s Creed Origins | Shadows is roughly similar in territory, according to Ubisoft associate game director Simon Lemay-Comtois. |
| Assassin’s Creed Valhalla | Shadows is smaller in territory, according to Lemay-Comtois. |
| Assassin’s Creed Odyssey | Not given a direct size ranking in the cited comparison. Lemay-Comtois contrasted its water-heavy Greek map with Shadows’ coastlines and Lake Biwa. |
The comparison reflects the world Ubisoft designed for each game, not a precise, independently verified calculation of land area. In particular, it should not be read as a promise that a route takes the same time in Shadows as it does in Origins.
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#1 Best Overall
- Only at Amazon Limited Edition Content includes the base game and Sekiryu Character Pack
- Explore the captivating open world of feudal Japan, from spectacular castle towns and bustling ports to peaceful shrines and war-ravaged landscapes. Adventure through unpredictable weather, changing seasons, and reactive environments.
- Become Naoe, a shinobi Assassin, and Yasuke, a legendary samurai, as you experience their riveting stories and master their complementary playstyles.
- Make information your weapon as you explore the world, and build your own network of spies to be your eyes and ears across locations to hunt down your next target. Along the way, recruit new allies with unique abilities to help accomplish your missions.
- Create a fully customizable hideout for your growing shinobi league as you train your crew, craft new gear, interact with key characters, and choose your base’s layout, decorations, and accessories.
Where does the map take place?
Shadows covers central Japan rather than the entire country. Game director Charles Benoit said Ubisoft focused on the center of Japan because many events surrounding unification and Oda Nobunaga’s territory took place there. The story’s needs also shaped the map: Lemay-Comtois cited Kyoto, Osaka, and Azuchi as important locations and described the design challenge of making the traversable space between their castles feel credible without reproducing real journeys that could take several days on horseback.
GamesRadar+ describes nine provinces inspired by modern Kansai: Izumi Settsu, Yamashiro, Harima, Omi, Iga, Wakasa, Yamato, Tamba, and Kii. Its guide identifies locations including Osaka, Kyoto, Himeji Castle, Lake Biwa, Azuchi Castle, and Todaiji. These province and landmark details, like its distance estimates, are GamesRadar+ reporting rather than Ubisoft’s official map-area figures.
Rank #2
- ENTER FEUDAL JAPAN - Explore the captivating open world of feudal Japan, from spectacular castle towns and bustling ports to peaceful shrines and war-ravaged landscapes. Adventure through unpredictable weather, changing seasons, and reactive environments.
- MASTER COMPLEMENTARY PLAYSTYLES - Become Naoe, a shinobi Assassin, and Yasuke, a legendary samurai, as you experience their riveting stories and master their complementary playstyles. As Naoe, use stealth to avoid detection and agility to confound your enemies. As Yasuke, strike your foes with lethal precision and power. Unlock new skills, gear, and progression independently for each character.
- MAKE INFORMATION YOUR WEAPON - Travel the world and build your own network of spies to be your eyes and ears across locations to hunt down your next target. Along the way, recruit new allies with unique abilities to help accomplish your missions
- BUILD A PLACE TO CALL HOME - Create a fully customizable hideout for your growing shinobi league as you train your crew, craft new gear, interact with key characters, and choose your base’s buildings layout, decorations, and accessories.
What kind of terrain fills the map?
Lemay-Comtois described the region as mountainous, with smaller mountains and valleys. Ubisoft’s scouting found many points of interest in valleys, alongside notable temples on mountaintops and other steep, difficult-to-traverse places. The map’s footprint is therefore only part of its scale in play: elevation and terrain shape how locations connect and how easily you can move between them.
The world has coastlines and Lake Biwa, but Lemay-Comtois said it does not have water on the scale of Odyssey, whose Greek map he described as about half water. GamesRadar+ also notes that sea, forest, and mountain areas extend beyond the nine provinces it lists.
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Rank #3
- Only at Amazon Limited Edition Content includes the base game and Sekiryu Character Pack
- Explore the captivating open world of feudal Japan, from spectacular castle towns and bustling ports to peaceful shrines and war-ravaged landscapes. Adventure through unpredictable weather, changing seasons, and reactive environments.
- Become Naoe, a shinobi Assassin, and Yasuke, a legendary samurai, as you experience their riveting stories and master their complementary playstyles.
- Make information your weapon as you explore the world, and build your own network of spies to be your eyes and ears across locations to hunt down your next target. Along the way, recruit new allies with unique abilities to help accomplish your missions.
- Create a fully customizable hideout for your growing shinobi league as you train your crew, craft new gear, interact with key characters, and choose your base’s layout, decorations, and accessories.
Does the world change as you explore?
Ubisoft says it rescaled the world to more realistic ratios and built distinct seasons and dynamic weather into it. Those systems can change both the appearance of a location and the options available during a mission: a frozen pond, for example, removes the underwater hiding option, while rain and darkness can make movement quieter and reduce the likelihood of detection. These details affect how familiar ground plays in different conditions, but they do not add up to a published map-area figure.
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