How and when to preload Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Later this month on March 20, we'll see the long-awaited release of Assassin's Creed Shadows. After some delays and controversy, the next installment in the Assassin's Creed is finally ready to go. As you prepare for launch day, one of the tasks you want to mark off your checklist is to preload Assassin's Creed Shadows, allowing you to download all the necessary files so you can start playing as soon as it launches.

Fortunately, we know exactly when the preload times will go live. If you're on one console, you can actually preload the game right now. In the guide below, we'll explain everything about how to preload your copy of Shadows.

The preload times work a little differently this time around for Shadows. If you have pre-ordered any edition of Assassin's Creed Shadows and you're playing on Xbox Series X|S, you can start preloading the game right now. For some reason, the Xbox preload went live weeks before the game launches, and that's not the case with PlayStation 5 or PC.

For those of you on PC, you can start preloading Shadows at 11 am ET/8 am PT/4 pm UTC on March 17. Finally, PS5 players have to wait the longest to preload, and they can start doing so at midnight local time on March 18. So whenever 12 am hits in your time zone, you can preload Shadows on your PS5.

As for when Assassin's Creed Shadows will actually launch, that's a different story. If you're on Xbox or PS5, Shadows becomes available as soon as midnight hits on March 20. This means you can start playing right as the calendar turns from the 19 to the 20.

Unfortunately, PC players have to wait until 12 am ET on March 20 to start playing. This is great if you're on the Eastern, Central, or Pacific time zones, as you just have to wait until the normal time like everyone else (CT and PT get to access the game a couple of hours early, though). However, if you're on the opposite side of the world on PC, you have to wait for hours and hours until 12 am ET hits in your specific time zone.

That only applies if you're using the Steam version to play Assassin's Creed Shadows, though. If you play through Ubisoft Connect, you can potentially access Shadows earlier if you're in Europe or Asia. You can see the map below to get a better idea of when you can start playing Shadows.

There are different time variations depending on whether you play on Steam or Ubisoft Connect and depending on where you live. Oh, the joy of PC gaming. Basically, though, most players will be able to start playing sometime on March 20 and all players can have the game preloaded by March 18.

That's all for now. Stick around on esports.gg for more news and updates.