The First Big DLC For Assassin's Creed Shadows Might Not Have What Fans Want

Published May 22, 2025

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The first DLC expansion for huge DLC expansion called Claws of Awaji. The expansion is reportedly adding 10 hours of new content, a new enemy type, a new weapon type, new skills, new gear, and new abilities. But it looks like fans will be waiting a bit longer to play with their friends.

Reported by Insider Gaming, Assassin's Creed Shadows' first DLC expansion, Claws of Awaji, is targeting a September release, but it will purportedly not include the in-development co-op mode. The game's co-op mode, reportedly codenamed "LEAGUE," is still in development and is scheduled to be released in 2026. It's also reported that the DLC expansion could see a delay from September into October, depending on Ubisoft's strategy for its game releases and DLC.

Don't Expect AC Shadows Co-Op This Year

It's Got A Long Way To Go

The in-development co-op mode for the game still has quite a bit of work to go, allegedly. It's also been reported that the co-op mode will not feature just the game's dual protagonists, Yasuke and Naoe. According to Insider Gaming, the co-op mode may let players fight as more characters than just Yasuke and Naoe, with the report claiming that a source said: "while they’re obviously central characters, there’s a deeper narrative tied into the co-op that will expand the experience beyond just the two of them."

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Assassin's Creed: Shadows has a massive amount of entirely free content on the way, offering plenty of incentives to revisit feudal Japan once more.

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Presumably, Yasuke and Naoe will be a part of this new mode and are the focus, but it remains to be seen if these sources end up being correct. Either way, the game's co-op mode is still far off, but it's not the only multiplayer AC experience in development. A multiplayer title code-named Invictus, which is said to be inspired by Fall Guys, is reportedly in development, too. It will allegedly feature 18 players.

Naoe and Yasuke Need More Team-Ups

In A Game With Dual Protagonists, It's Surprising How Little They Work Together

Despite Assassin's Creed Shadows featuring two leads with different playstyles, the characters work very little together in the game. They're kept separate for most of the game, and players are forced to pick between one or the other for specific missions. Not having team-ups between the two characters seems like a missed opportunity. And with the multiplayer DLC being larger in scope than just Yasuke and Naoe, we may not see a true Yasuke and Naoe team-up for Shadows.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is set to get a lot of updates, including new parkour additions, but the lack of co-op until 2026 will be disappointing to most fans. Ghost of Tsushima, a game often compared to Assassin's Creed Shadows, got a co-op mode post-release too, and it was more popular than most probably expected. It looks like fans have a while until play with their friends and plan and execute assassinations in Assassin's Creed Shadows, if that's even what the multiplayer mode ends up entailing.