Ubisoft confirmed Assassin's Creed Shadows will be playable on the Steam Deck from day one, despite earlier hardware concerns.
The company initially said the game wouldn't run on the handheld at launch because of its system requirements. However, Ubisoft gave in to fan pressure and announced on March 12, 2025, that Steam Deck support would be available from the get-go.
This is a big move for Ubisoft, with Shadows being the first Assassin's Creed game to launch on Steam on day one since the company updated its release policy last year. Thanks to this announcement, fans who were concerned about playing the upcoming Japan-set Assassin's Creed on Valve's handheld can now do so without needing extra workarounds.
When Ubisoft initially outlined the technical requirements for Assassin's Creed Shadows, the Steam Deck wasn't listed as a supported platform. The devs mentioned the hardware doesn't hit the minimum PC specs, so it's unlikely the game will be optimized for the device. Players felt disappointed, especially those who were hoping to play the game on the go since other AAA titles have already been made compatible with the Deck.
However, the strong response from fans helped persuade Ubisoft to reassess. Eventually, the developers took to social media to announce that Shadows would be supported on the Deck at launch. The announcement clarified that they were waiting on Valve's official classification to decide if the game would be considered "Steam Deck Verified" or just "Playable."
Although Ubisoft has confirmed Steam Deck support, it doesn't ensure Assassin's Creed Shadows will run perfectly on the device. Valve classifies games on the Deck into tiers: Verified, Playable, or Unsupported, based on factors such as controller compatibility, resolution scaling, and performance. As of now, earlier Assassin's Creed titles on Steam are shown as Playable, meaning they operate but may require a few adjustments.
If Shadows becomes the first in the series to achieve full Verified status, that'd be a big jump in handheld compatibility. Hopefully, Shadows won't encounter similar problems, but it's something players should keep in mind. Some "Steam Deck Verified" games have still had stuttering and frame rate issues at launch, so players should keep their expectations in check.
Even with some uncertainty about performance and optimization, the game being playable from day one is a big win for Steam Deck owners.
Those who have preordered Shadows can preload the game ahead of its March 20 release and test out how well it runs on Valve's device as soon as it goes live.