Assassin’s Creed Shadows update – image credit: Ubisoft Québec
Fans are asking if Shadows will follow in the footsteps of “Assassin’s Creed Mirage”, which restored the long-requested jump button. Adding manual jump isn’t as easy as flipping a switch. Shadows’ fighting and “movement systems” make it a more difficult feature to include. However, one of the “game’s directors” has hinted that it is not impossible, stating that the update may “realistically happen” in the future. So we’re talking about the Assassin’s Creed Shadows update.
As a gaming news writer who has covered Assassin’s Creed since Origins and reviewed multiple Ubisoft patches over the years, I focus on explaining why certain mechanics succeed or fail inside the series. This hands-on experience helps readers understand what makes updates like the manual jump realistically possible or technically challenging.
Did Ubisoft Address Fans’ Requests for a “Manual” Jump Option?
Associate game director Simon Lemay-Comtois commented about the request in “an interview with JorRaptor“. Everything is not lost he said, explaining why the feature is difficult to incorporate into Shadows. The team does not want to alter” the game’s control scheme completely”, especially given how many combat elements are related to it. That complexity makes adding a manual jump even more complicated. Because of that, he added, they can’t implement it the same way Mirage did.
Why Japan’s Level Design Makes It More Difficult?
Beyond the control scheme, Lemay-Comtois says the game’s world presents its own challenge. “The biggest challenge is to make it work with the complex geometry of Japan, because we have so many bits and pieces sticking out of things that you can now easily target,” he explains. Adding manual jump would give players much finer control over movement, but that also risks confusing the game’s targeting system. In practice, it could make environmental interactions unpredictable and introduce a whole new set of technical hurdles.
Ubisoft Is Still Tweaking the Feature Internally: the current Assassin’s Creed update
“It’s a million little knobs that we’re tweaking as we figure out how to make it work,” he continues. “But don’t lose hope. You might very well see a manual jump addition.” Lemay-Comtois also praised the Mirage team for how cleanly they implemented the feature there, admitting that their success “puts pressure” on his own team to deliver something similar for Shadows.
Why Modern AC Controls Make Manual Jump Hard to Add?
To support his claim, the presenter mentions that Mirage’s developers had to rebuild major portions of the control scheme and UI only to make the jump button seem correct. “Modern Assassin’s Creed games” are extremely dense, with layered combat systems, RPG-style progression, and massive historical maps. In such a cramped configuration, devoting a full button to jumping is not as simple as it appears. Every input already has a job, so adding one more needs careful rebalancing throughout the entire control architecture.
Will Manual Jump Come in 2025 or later in the Creed Shadows update?
A manual jump appears to be possible, but it is unlikely to happen anytime soon. Mirage didn’t acquire the functionality until over “two years after launch”, so don’t expect Shadows to get it right away.
Is Manual Jump Really Important for Assassin’s Creed Shadows?
Yes, because manual jump directly impacts mobility, stealth routes, and parkour freedom. Players who enjoyed Mirage’s cleaner movement system argue that Shadows feels slightly restricted without it. Adding a manual jump could unlock:
- More vertical exploration options.
- Smoother parkour transitions during stealth missions.
- Better control in tight, multi-layered Japanese environments.
This is why the feature continues to be one of the most requested additions in the community, and why Ubisoft keeps addressing it in developer interviews.
FAQ:
Lemay-Comtois hinted that Shadows will get post-launch updates, but nothing on the scale of a full DLC or expansion. He described future patches as being “a bit more than yesterday’s update,” suggesting smaller, incremental improvements rather than major content drops.
Assassin’s Creed Jade is still scheduled to be released after Shadows, although the delay to March and “the long silence” surrounding Jade make the exact release date difficult to estimate.
