Summary

  • Assassin's Creed Shadows is not available on a Nintendo console at the time of this writing.
  • One Nintendo user modified a New 3DS to stream Assassin's Creed Shadows to the handheld.

While Xbox, PlayStation, and PC gamers have spent the past week exploring the wonders of feudal Japan in Assassin's Creed Shadows, Nintendo fans have had to sit out, except for one, who was able to play the game on a decade-old New 3DS. Assassin's Creed Shadows has just recently been released, and it's been garnering tons of positive sentiment from fans and critics alike. An impressive 3 million players have jumped into feudal Japan with Naoe and Yasuke in the game's first week.

When it comes to the Assassin's Creed franchise, it seems Nintendo gamers have always drawn the shortest straw. None of the mainline titles in the franchise have been released on Nintendo's popular handheld Switch predecessor, the 3DS, and the one game that was being designed specifically for the device, Assassin's Creed: Lost Legacy, never made it to market. Despite Wii U gamers being able to play big releases like Assassin's Creed 3 and Black Flag, these games looked and ran much better on Xbox and PlayStation at the time.

Assassin's Creed Shadows Good Reviews in Japan
Assassin's Creed Shadows is Getting Positive Reviews in Japan

Assassin's Creed Shadows is available after a year of highly controversial development, earning the praise of critics on both sides of the Pacific.

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Now, with Assassin's Creed Shadows finally released, one Nintendo gamer took it upon themselves to make the massive open-world action adventure game playable on a 2015 New 3DS. Twitter user Bob Wulff posted several images and a video of the game running on the old Nintendo handheld. Judging by the clip, the game seemed to have been running smoothly, as Bob Wulff was able to successfully parry enemy attacks, though there was one big stutter that did occur once in the 40-second clip.

Nintendo Fan Gets Assassin's Creed Shadows Playable on 3DS

Below the tweet, Bob Wulff clarified that Assassin's Creed Shadows isn't running natively on the 3DS, but rather the game is running on a console or PC and being wirelessly displayed on the 3DS screen using the game streaming client Moonlight. It'll be interesting to know whether Wulff is planning to play the entirety of Assassin's Creed Shadows on the 3DS screen, or if they're simply testing it out for the fun of it. With a 800x200 pixel display, it can't be a great way to experience Assassin's Creed Shadows. The game's weather system alone can be a visual feast to behold; it's hard to imagine it looking as good at such a small resolution.

As for Nintendo Switch gamers, they shouldn't hold their breath for Assassin's Creed Shadows to arrive on the Switch, as none of the more recent RPG-style Assassin's Creed games have made the jump. So far, only re-releases of the less graphic-intensive earlier games like Assassin's Creed 3: Remastered, Rogue, and the Ezio trilogy have shown up on the platform. 2023's Assassin's Creed Mirage would likely make a solid candidate, as its world is much smaller than the RPG entries. However, with the Switch 2 supposedly around the corner, it may finally have the capability of running the larger Assassin's Creed games like Shadows, Valhalla, and Odyssey.

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Assassin's Creed Shadows Tag Page Cover Art
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Top Critic Avg: 81 /100 Critics Rec: 82%
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Released
March 20, 2025
ESRB
Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language
Developer(s)
Ubisoft Quebec
Publisher(s)
Ubisoft
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Assassin’s Creed Shadows Expansion Details Leaked on Steam
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

Genre(s)
Action, Stealth, RPG