Assassin’s Creed Shadows Receives New Free Story Quest Ahead of Claws of Awaji DLC Launch

Assassin’s Creed Shadows received new free story quest, new Hideout upgrades, new project in the Animus HUB and more with the release of the Update 1.1.1 on September 11, 2025.

As for The Claws of Awaji expansion, it will be released on September 16, 2025, bringing over 10 hours of new story chapters, along with a new region, weapon, abilities, outfits, an enemy faction, and bosses.

In the new free quest, players will join Junjiro on his journey to meet a legendary Bo Master and learn more about the Bo staff, a new weapon type perfectly suited to Naoe’s acrobatic fighting style. Originally developed exclusively for the Claws of Awaji expansion, the Bo staff will be rewarded to players upon completing the quest.

Additionally, to support the launch of the Claws of Awaji expansion, the game’s developers have raised the level cap to 100.

With the new update, each unique Hideout building received two additional upgrade levels, adding up to 20 new enhancements in total, along with three new Hideout levels.

Besides that, due to Update 1.1.1, by upgrading the Nando to level 2, players will gain the ability to meditate and skip time forward to the next 6 o’clock (AM or PM).

From now on, upgrading the Study to level 4 allows Scouts to reveal both Viewpoints and Safehouses, and with the Kakurega upgraded to level 4, uncovering all Viewpoints within a province now also reveals the entire province automatically.

By upgrading the Forge to level 6, Naoe and Yasuke now gain the ability to enhance their gear to new quality tiers, Mythic and Artifact.

On top of that, the game’s developers have released a new project available in the Animus HUB, in which players can get Ezio-themed gear and the kusarigama, called Sanctuary, Rooftop Cat pet, and Charm of Firenze trinket.

Also, the patch notes revealed that with the release of the Claws of Awaji expansion, new Anomalies will become available in that region, with one appearing in every schedule, only for players who have the expansion installed.

Set in 16th-century Japan, Assassin’s Creed Shadows focuses on the conflict between the Assassin Brotherhood and the Templar Order, allowing players to control two protagonists: the samurai Yasuke and the shinobi Naoe.

Developed by Ubisoft Quebec and published by Ubisoft, the game is available on Windows and macOS PCs, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, with an iPadOS version planned for release at a later date.

As of the time of writing, the game holds a “Mostly Positive” rating on Steam based on 22,288 reviews, with an all-time peak of 64,825 concurrent players, according to SteamDB.

In July 2025, the 14th major installment in the Assassin’s Creed series and the successor to 2023’s Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, has reached the 5 million players mark.