Assassin's Creed Shadows Spy Network System Explained

The official Cinematic trailer for Assassin's Creed Shadows showcased every aspect of the game, from its sprawling world design to intriguing protagonists, gameplay mechanics, and features. The world constantly shifts with time and seasons, changing the environment and giving it a sense of realism that unlocks new opportunities like establishing a spy network. 

Shadows will feature a unique gameplay mechanic similar to one last introduced in Assassin's Creed Brotherhood: players can recruit and acquire intel on their enemies across Japan. In this guide, we've discussed what we know thus far about the spy network system present in Assassin's Creed Shadows.

What Is The Spy Network System In Assassin's Creed Shadows?

During the World Premiere reveal of Assassin's Creed Shadows, players were treated to a cinematic look at the open world of feudal Japan, which spotlighted the characters, gameplay mechanics, features, and more. Assassin's Creed players have long requested the setting of feudal Japan, and thus far, it's looking to be a visual and cultural extravaganza when it launches in November 2024.

As its player base has requested this location for years, Ubisoft has poured much time and resources into developing its evolving open-world environments. Creative director Jonathan Dumont had already explained in an interview with IGN that the game's map size is quite comparable with Assassin's Creed Origins, and players will be able to utilize their evolving environments to establish a network of spies across Japan.

Assassin's Creed Shadows will feature a spy network system that allows players to develop and establish a network of spies who collect valuable information. These spies will essentially be their "eyes and ears" throughout Japan, allowing them to discover new areas and locations or make it easier to track down targets.

As they travel and explore the vast open world, they can recruit people who possess unique skills and abilities for their spy network. Players can use these skills and abilities to complete missions, track down targets, provide assistance in combat, and more.

The spy network system sounds eerie, similar to another feature included in a previous Assassin's Creed title, the Brotherhood system. This recruitment system lets Ezio recruit initiates before sending them out on assignments or relying on them for assistance during missions.

In addition to this, Shadows will also give players a place to convene with their allies within this spy network system by using hideouts. While it's unclear how they can acquire hideouts or if they'll be unlocked as they progress with the main quests, they can utilize the hideout to obtain more information and strategize their next movements against their targets.

Ubisoft utilizes the best aspects of the Brotherhood system and repurposes them for Shadows as a spy network, which is a welcoming addition. Alongside its ever-changing open-world system, changing seasons and reactive environments make Assassin's Creed Shadows feel more dynamic and visceral when players interact with them.