ARK: Survival Evolved

Ubisoft and Ubisoft Quebec have released the final update for Assassin's Creed Shadows on June 16, as confirmed by the publisher. This update marks the last major content drop for the year-old open-world RPG, shifting focus toward the upcoming Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced.

The update introduces a new story quest titled 'Black Tides', in which two elite-level Templars known as 'Black Cross' arrive in Japan to hunt dual protagonists Naoe and Yasuke. According to the developers, the Black Cross may have additional goals beyond eliminating the protagonists, leaving it to Naoe and Yasuke to prevent them from acquiring whatever they seek and survive.

Alongside the narrative content, the update adds an endgame challenge mode called 'Domains'. This mode places players in extra-tricky Animus arenas designed to push them out of their comfort zones and rethink their loadouts. Completing these challenges rewards unique gear, including a hatch item and an unlockable outfit based on Edward Kenway's pirate garb from Black Flag.

The update also includes two new crossover Projects available in the Animus HUB: 'Riptides' and 'Undertow'. These projects allow players to unlock themed outfits, weapons, and trinkets for both Shadows and Black Flag Resynced by completing Anomalies in either game. Progressing through the rewards tree in Shadows will unlock Japan-themed gear usable in Black Flag Resynced, and vice versa.

Associate game director Simon Lemay-Comtois described the reward system as a way for players to 'work towards those rewards' across both titles. The crossover is part of Ubisoft's strategy to bridge the two games, offering synergistic brand awareness with the pirate-themed outfit appearing in Shadows and ninja/samurai outfits available in Black Flag Resynced.

This final update concludes the post-launch support for Assassin's Creed Shadows, which launched roughly a year ago. Players can now experience the concluding story mission and endgame challenges before the franchise moves on to Black Flag Resynced, scheduled for release next month.