Ubisoft had to "retool" the mobile game lore for Assassin's Creed Shadows, with a brand new modern narrative that "will develop over time"

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Could it be farewell to Loki for now?

Naoe and Yasuke walk in the sunset in a screenshot from Assassin's Creed Shadows
(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Stealth action darling Assassin's Creed is known for working across multiple timelines, but Assassin's Creed Shadows will seemingly pivot from the Basim and Loki-heavy storylines championed in the last two games to present "a new chapter of modern narrative."

In an Ask-Me-Anything thread on Reddit, Ubisoft developer Johnathan responded to a query on Assassin's Creed Mirage protagonist Basim's potential relevance in Shadows. Spoiler alert: as revealed in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Basim is also the reincarnation of Norse god of trickery Loki, which in turn makes him a central figure in both the modern and historical Assassin's Creed timelines. His prominence over the last two mainline games begs the question: will we see more of Basim/Loki in Shadows?

"I’ll try answering this one without spoiling anything," Johnathan replied in the thread. "Shadows will lay the groundwork for a new chapter of Modern narrative that will be different than what we have done in the past, but that is connected to our modern day lore and will develop over time in the Animus Hub and subsequent titles. The franchise team will have more on this soon."

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This "new chapter" in the modern timeline, paired with earlier comments in the Reddit post where Basim's presence in Shadows is again dispelled, infers that we will be getting acquainted with potentially new modern day faces in the upcoming Ubisoft game. Say bye bye to Layla and Loki for now, then

The next part of user ItZ_wArLoRzZ's question relates to the established "Japanese lore from the Transmedia & Side Games" – mobile card game Assassin's Creed: Memories and the Assassin’s Creed Blade of Shao Jun manga, specifically – and whether it will be honored in Shadows. In response, Johnathan simply hints that "we’ve had to retool some of the AC Memories lore" to accommodate some of Shadows' narrative.

These changes could be miniscule for all we know, especially if you don't engage with every offshoot branch of Assassin's Creed. But if "retooling" the lore of the card game has knock-on effects to the canon timeline, it could be a fun spot for series diehards in search of a new challenge come Shadows' February 14 release date.

For more on Naoe and Yasuke's upcoming adventure, read our Assassin's Creed Shadows hands-on preview

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Jasmine Gould-Wilson
Jasmine Gould-Wilson
Senior Staff Writer, GamesRadar+

Jasmine is a Senior Staff Writer at GamesRadar+. Raised in Hong Kong and having graduated with an English Literature degree from Queen Mary, University of London, she started her games journalism career as a freelancer with TheGamer and Tech Radar Gaming before joining GamesRadar+ full-time in 2023. As part of the Features team, her duties include attending game previews and key international conferences such as Gamescom and Digital Dragons in between regular interviews, opinion pieces, and the occasional news or guides stint. In her spare time, you'll likely find Jasmine thinking/talking about Resident Evil, purchasing another book she's unlikely to read, or complaining about the weather.