Assassin's Creed Shadows now available for Mac, PC, and consoles

Ubisoft's "Assassin's Creed Shadows" can now be downloaded from the macOS App Store, as the game debuted across all compatible platforms, including Mac, PC, and various consoles.

Assassin's Creed Shadows takes the iconic franchise to 16th-century feudal Japan. Players can switch between two protagonists of completely different backgrounds and skills: Fujibayashi Naoe, a shinobi assassin, and a legendary samurai known as Yasuke.

The dual-character approach allows for diverse gameplay mechanics and storylines, as players have the option to switch between Naoe's stealth missions and Yasuke's combat-packed scenes, although both are part of the main storyline. The game is a sequel to Assassin's Creed Mirage, and revolves around the conflict between the Assassin Brotherhood and their enemies, the Templar Order.

The action takes place across an incredibly detailed landscape, as the game itself features dynamic biomes, lighting, and weather conditions. Though it's playable on any Apple Silicon Mac with an M1 or newer chip, Ubisoft was able to harness the true power of Apple's M3 and M4 lines. Both chips support hardware-accelerated ray tracing, which allows for an immersive environment.

Assassin's Creed Shadows strives for historical accuracy by attempting to mimic 16th-century Japan down to the smallest detail, such as the exact shades of varnish found on wooden structures of the time. There's also a heavy focus on immersion, as the game itself is available in Japanese as well as English.

The macOS version of the game debuted alongside its PC and console equivalents — a move practically unheard of in the world of Triple-A games. Mac ports tend to be more of an afterthought, with most prominent titles reaching the Mac years following their initial console or PC launch. Though Apple's efforts to promote Triple-A games haven't always led to success, the latest installment of the Assassin's Creed franchise looks like it has potential.

Ubisoft stayed true to its promise, and released the game for all platforms simultaneously, despite multiple delays. An iPad version of Assassin's Creed Shadows is also in the works, though Ubisoft has not yet provided any information regarding a potential release date.

Though iPad users will have to wait, owners of Apple Silicon Macs can already purchase the game from the App Store for $69.99.