Ahead ofAssassin’s Creed Shadows' release on March 20, one major question that’s been lingering is whether the game will be playable on the Steam Deck. The game promises an immersive experience set in feudal Japan, with detailed environments and weather systems built in a new version of Ubisoft’s Anvil engine. However,that also means the game will have high system requirements, which can often spell doom for Steam Deck compatibility.
TheSteam Deck has proven itself capableof handling major AAA titles likeBaldur’s Gate 3andElden Ring,butnot every new release plays nicely right away. Some require tweaks, others need official post-launch support, and in some cases, certain games just won’t run at all without workarounds.Assassin’s Creed Shadowscould potentially face similar challenges.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Is Playable On Steam Deck
Ubisoft Confirms Assassin’s Creed Shadows Is Steam Deck Compatible
As confirmed by the officialAssassin’s CreedX account,Assassin’s Creed Shadowswill feature Steam Deck support at launch.This represents a significant turn from past statements, withUbisoftstating that the Steam Deck was “below our minimum specs” andAssassin’s Creed Shadowswouldn’t be supported at launch in a tech Q&A from February.
The change in plans is great news for Steam Deck users, but it does raise some questions. Steam categorizes Steam Deck compatibility into Verified, Playable, and Unsupported, with Verified being reserved for titles that work well without requiring tweaks. AsShadowsis still awaiting classification,there’s no guarantee that it will make it into the Verified tier, but it should at least be able to manage a Playable classification.
What To Expect From Assassin’s Creed Shadows Steam Deck Compatibility
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Is An Intensive Game, So Be Realistic
While it has been confirmed thatAssassin’s Creed Shadowswill be playable on the Steam Deck as soon as the game is released, players should be realistic about performance expectations. The game is graphically intensive even for high-end PCs,so don’t expect to max out the settings on a handheld device.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Pre-Load Date, Times, & Global Launch Details
When can you start playing Assassin’s Creed Shadows? Find out everything you need about pre-load date, time, and global launch details here.
For starters, the game’s system requirements are hefty. The minimum specs call for an Intel i7-8700K or Ryzen 5 3600, 16GB of RAM, and a GTX 1070 or Radeon RX 5700. The recommended specs go even higher, requiring an RTX 3060 Ti or RX 6700 XT. The Steam Deck operates with significantly less power than these setups, meaning compromises will be needed. As a reminder,the Steam Deck OLED’s specs are powered by a 6 nm AMD APU, with a Zen 2 CPU and an RDNA 2 GPU.
There have beengameplay leaks ofAssassin’s Creed Shadows, but Ubisoft has responded to them by saying that they do not represent the final product.
Texture quality, shadows, and draw distances will likely be on low settings to maintain a stable frame rate, and ray-tracing outside of the game’s lowest “Selective” mode should be out of the question, except for possibly the lowest selective option. Ubisoft hasn’t provided official details on performance,but similar open-world games suggest that a 30 FPS experience at medium to low settings is the most likely outcome.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Canon Mode, Explained
Assassin’s Creed Shadows gives players multiple narrative modes to choose from at the start, including the brand-new and unique Canon mode.
Battery life is another factor to consider. Running a game as demanding asAssassin’s Creed Shadowswill drain theSteam Deck’s batteryquickly, meaning shorter play sessions unless plugged in. So, while the game will run on the Steam Deck, don’t expect a perfect experience. Still,Assassin’s Creed ShadowsSteam Deck support in any form is a win for those who want to experience feudal Japan in handheld mode.
