Despite some controversy and heated discourse online, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is one of the most anticipated games of 2025 because of the franchise and its setting in feudal Japan. Ubisoft has shared the release time map for every region, and the newest AC is available to preload before launch. While the official launch isn’t too far away, here’s how to play Assassin’s Creed Shadows early by exploiting the New Zealand trick.
When does Assassin’s Creed Shadows come out in New Zealand?
Ubisoft has confirmed that the newest AC launches at midnight local time for consoles, which means Assassin’s Creed Shadows launches in New Zealand at 12AM NZDT on March 20th.
Because it has a local midnight release for consoles, this means players on Xbox will be able to play Assassin’s Creed Shadows early from 4AM PDT/7AM EDT/11AM GMT on March 19th. Basically, players can get early access to AC before it officially unlocks in their region.
Unfortunately, the NZ exploit is only possible on Xbox. It’s technically doable on PS5, but it’s not worth the hassle as you’d have to create a separate NZ account, and you’d also have to pay more money just to get NZ PSN gift cards.
The exploit doesn’t work on PC either, but the good news is that Assassin’s Creed Shadows officially unlocks slightly earlier than consoles for some regions. This includes the UK where the newest AC is scheduled to unlock at 10PM GMT on March 19th for Steam and Ubisoft Connect, which is a couple hours slightly earlier than the midnight launch planned for consoles.
How to play AC Shadows early via New Zealand trick
Assassin’s Creed Shadows fans on Xbox will be able to play early from 4AM PDT/7AM EDT/11AM GMT on March 19th by exploiting the New Zealand trick. You need to pre-order and preload the game in advance, and, once the aforementioned hours have passed, simply follow the below steps:
- Start your Xbox
- Head to Settings
- Click System
- Choose Language and Location
- Change location to New Zealand
- Restart your Xbox
Keep the location of your Xbox console set to New Zealand until Animal Crossing unlocks in your region. After that, you can adjust the settings back to their usual configuration.
In other AC news, the game is officially Steam Deck verified for launch, and Ubisoft has clarified the console specs after posting “inaccuracies”. The game is also available to pre-order at its cheapest price under £50.
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2025-03-18 17:13