AC Shadows’ Claws of Awaji Could Finally Put Assassins vs. Templars Back in Focus

Why This Caught My Attention

I’ve been with Assassin’s Creed since Altair swan-dived off towers in 2007, and the Assassins vs. Templars thread is the reason I’ve stuck around through the highs, lows, and endless collectibles. Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a strong return-big, dense, and thankfully not just a Valhalla repaint-but it definitely kept the Templar conflict on the margins. That’s why a recent Ubisoft dev AMA perked my ears: the team says a “deep dive” into the series’ core conflict is coming “in the near future.” With the Claws of Awaji DLC landing in September, the timing lines up a little too perfectly to ignore.

• Ubisoft says the long-running Assassins vs. Templars arc will get a proper “deep dive” soon.
• Claws of Awaji is the obvious candidate, but nothing’s confirmed-temper expectations.
• After years of proto-Templar stand-ins, the series needs a clean, explicit re-centering.
• If this lore pivot is paywalled behind DLC, expect pushback unless it lands hard.

Breaking Down the Announcement

In the AMA, a developer reiterated that the Assassins vs. Templars conflict is a core pillar, explaining that Shadows first needed to ground Naoe and Yasuke in their setting before expanding on the bigger ideological war. They added that the team “scratched the surface” with the Critical Role story drop and that a deeper dive is coming soon. That’s a careful way to say, “We hear you, and we’re lining up the lore.”

We already know the Claws of Awaji DLC involves “reclaiming a lost treasure” while Naoe and Yasuke are hunted by dangerous new foes. If you speak Assassin’s Creed, “lost treasure” usually translates to “Piece of Eden or something very adjacent.” And “new foes” is basically a blank canvas that could easily be filled with Templar agents and their local proxies. It’s not confirmation, but the silhouette looks familiar.

Why This Matters Now

From AC2 through Rogue, the franchise was propelled by a chess match between the Brotherhood and the Templars, with modern-day beats—Desmond, then Layla—stitching it together. The RPG era pivoted to proto-Templar factions: Odyssey’s Cult of Kosmos, Valhalla’s Order of the Ancients. Interesting? Sure. But diffuse. Mirage nudged things back toward the Hidden Ones, and Shadows delivered a compelling duo in a lush Sengoku-era sandbox—just without that razor-edged ideological tug-of-war driving the plot.

A near-term deep dive is a chance to reconnect the dots. If Ubisoft is serious about refocusing the meta-plot—especially with the Infinity hub looming over the franchise—Shadows is the right place to plant a flag. The period is ripe for conspiracies: European traders, Jesuit influence, fracturing clans, and power brokers who would love a shiny artifact that rewrites history.

What Claws of Awaji Needs to Nail

• Clear Templar presence and ideology: Not just masked “orders,” but named Templars with motives that clash with Naoe’s and Yasuke’s worldviews.
• A meaningful artifact: Tie the “treasure” to Japanese myth—think echoes of the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi or magatama—as a Piece of Eden with a distinct gameplay hook, not a lore MacGuffin.
• Dual-protagonist payoff: Let Naoe’s stealth and Yasuke’s power approach the conflict differently, with missions reflecting those philosophies rather than reskinned objectives.
• Modern-day breadcrumbs: Even a short sequence or codex drop that links this to the current overarching arc goes a long way for fans who track the meta-story.
• Systemic integration: New enemy types and Templar tactics that change encounters—guards protecting “influence nodes,” counter-intel patrols, or social stealth wrinkles—so it’s not just another map chunk.

Red Flags and Real Questions

The big worry is gating essential lore behind paid DLC. If Claws of Awaji becomes the place where the Templar thread finally snaps back into focus, that’s exciting—but it’ll sting for players who just finished the base game. Ubisoft can blunt that blow if the DLC adds texture rather than critical exposition, or if subsequent free updates carry some of the connective tissue.

There’s also the risk of surface-level fan service: “legions of Templars” that are just stat-bloated enemies, a predictable artifact chase, and a reveal that nods at the meta-plot without moving it. After a strong base game, a shallow lore pivot would feel like busywork. Give us a memorable antagonist with convictions—someone more Haytham Kenway than generic zealot—and pay it off with missions that reflect that philosophy.

Reading Ubisoft’s Playbook

This wouldn’t be the first time Ubisoft has used post-launch content to course-correct or deepen lore. Origins’ The Hidden Ones tightened the Brotherhood’s beginnings; Odyssey’s Fate of Atlantis fleshed out Isu myth; Valhalla stitched loose ends with its epilogue. If Claws of Awaji is phase one of a renewed Templar focus—with another expansion riding close behind—that tracks with how the series has realigned itself in the past.

But the strongest moves weren’t just text dumps—they changed how we played. If Awaji gives the Templars mechanical teeth and not just cutscene gravitas, this could be more than a lore patch; it could be the moment Shadows truly becomes an Assassin’s Creed game about, well, Assassins and Templars.

TL;DR

Ubisoft says a “near-future” deep dive into the Assassins vs. Templars is coming, and Claws of Awaji fits the bill. If the DLC delivers a real ideological clash, a meaningful artifact, and mechanics that reflect both, Shadows could lock back into the series’ beating heart. If it’s just a lore tease behind a paywall, expect polite applause—and a lot of side-eye.