Assassin's Creed Shadows: The First Mission

Ubisoft is renowned for creating rich and immersive worlds through major franchises such as Far Cry, Watch Dogs, and Assassin's Creed, its most popular license. This iconic series has taken more than 140 million players on a journey through history, with each installment immersing players in a new environment.

Of all the settings considered, feudal Japan was undoubtedly the most highly anticipated by players. So when the 14th opus, Assassin's Creed Shadows, was announced in response to fan demand, anticipation was at an all-time high.

We had to transform this anticipation into real engagement while respecting and enhancing the universe created by Ubisoft. So we decided to focus the campaign on immersion, putting fans in the shoes of scouts for the Assassin Brotherhood.

We designed an immersive phygital experience, conceived as a direct extension of the game's universe. An ARG distributed via an enigmatic box and a Discord server that allowed fans, content creators, and their communities to unite to help the game's protagonists carry out their assassination. They had to collaborate to solve a series of puzzles by interacting with unique interactive bots and using their knowledge of feudal Japan. By reintroducing this investigative dimension, the campaign paid homage to the very essence of the franchise.

This campaign aimed to change players' perceptions of their role as gamers by giving them the opportunity to unlock exclusive information about the upcoming game through their own efforts. It allowed fans to immerse themselves in the game's universe before its release and highlighted Ubisoft's respect for its fans and its license.

From a creative standpoint, the real challenge was to achieve a consistent and credible result. We had to recreate a world, and every element was designed to reinforce its credibility, right down to the bots' dialogues. Fans had high expectations for the feudal Japan setting, and we had to respect that culture in every element, from the box to the puzzles to the characters. The experience, which was both scripted and interactive, offered a unique opportunity for collaboration between Ubisoft, content creators, and their communities.