To save manually in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, open the pause menu and choose Save, then pick a slot. The game also autosaves on its own, and per Ubisoft you get twenty manual save slots and five autosave slots, with your most recent save uploaded to the cloud automatically.
Below we cover when manual saving becomes available, how autosaves behave, how to load and delete saves, where the files live on PC and Mac, how cross-progression works across platforms, and the save bugs Ubisoft has patched since launch. Everything is verified against Ubisoft’s help article on managing saved games and official patch notes up to Title Update 1.1.13.
When Manual Saving Unlocks
The opening missions only autosave. Player guides consistently report that the manual save option appears once you reach the prologue quest Fight of the Kakushiba Ikki, the point where the story introduces Naoe, and that the earlier short missions rely on autosaves alone. Ubisoft does not name the exact quest, but if you cannot find a save option in the first minutes of the game, that is expected, and the autosaves still let you quit and resume safely.
How to Save, Load and Delete
Manual save: open the pause menu, choose Save, and select one of the twenty slots.
Load: from the main menu, choose Load, highlight a slot and hold Load.
Delete: either from the main menu’s Load screen, or in-game from the pause menu by choosing Save, highlighting a slot and holding Delete.
Holding rather than tapping is the rule for both loading and deleting, which prevents accidental overwrites.
How Autosaving Works
The game writes autosaves on its own as you play, and five slots rotate, so each new autosave replaces the oldest. That gives you a short window of recoverable history: if you notice a mistake well after the fact, the autosaves may already have moved past it.
Ubisoft has not published the full list of autosave triggers. Player guides describe saves after missions, on entering some combat encounters and at regular intervals, with an icon in the corner of the screen while a save is written. One trigger is official: since Title Update 1.0.2, an autosave is created before starting a contract quest.
Using the Twenty Manual Slots
Manual saves are the only ones the game will never overwrite, so spend them on moments you may want back:
- Before story and relationship choices, particularly anything in the romance arcs.
- Before a tough assassination target, so a failed infiltration costs minutes.
- Before forcing a season change. Our seasons guide explains what a season turn resets.
- Before starting New Game+. Ubisoft says opting into New Game+ resets story and objective progress, so keep a manual save of your finished run.
Once you fill all twenty, overwrite your oldest general-purpose slots and keep the ones tied to specific decisions.
Cloud Saves, Cross-Progression and PC File Locations
Your last save uploads to the cloud automatically. The game also supports cross-progression through Ubisoft Connect, including the Nintendo Switch 2 version, as long as every platform is logged into, or linked to, the same Ubisoft account. Purchased DLC and store content do not carry across platforms; you need to own it on each one.
On PC and Mac, Ubisoft lists these default save folders (replace the ID with your Ubisoft Connect ID):
- Steam:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Ubisoft\Ubisoft Game Launcher\savegames\<UbisoftConnectID>\1081 - Ubisoft Connect PC and Epic Games Store:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Ubisoft\Ubisoft Game Launcher\savegames\<UbisoftConnectID>\8006 - Mac:
~/Library/Containers/Assassin's Creed Shadows/Data/Library/Autosave Information/saves
Back that folder up before reinstalling or moving PCs if you do not want to rely on the cloud copy alone.
Save Bugs Patched Since Launch
The launch version had several save problems, all addressed in official updates:
- Title Update 1.0.2 fixed manual saves being blocked after the quest Heart of an Assassin, fixed saves being written while the player was dead or dying, fixed an issue where players sometimes could not manually save, and made corrupted save files show a proper reason and error code.
- Title Update 1.0.5 fixed some players being handed a new level 60 save file with all objectives uncovered.
- Title Update 1.1.7 stopped enemies and loot respawning, and Corrupted Castles resetting, when loading a save from before a season change.
If you are on an old build and the save option is missing, update first. Our full Assassin’s Creed Shadows guides hub covers the rest of the game.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you manually save in AC Shadows? Open the pause menu, choose Save and pick one of the twenty slots.
Why can’t I save manually yet? Manual saving is not available in the opening missions. Player guides report it opens at the prologue quest Fight of the Kakushiba Ikki; until then the game autosaves.
How many save slots are there? Twenty manual save slots and five autosave slots, per Ubisoft.
Does AC Shadows have cloud saves? Yes. Your last save uploads to the cloud automatically, and cross-progression through Ubisoft Connect carries it between platforms.
Where are AC Shadows save files on PC? In the Ubisoft Game Launcher savegames folder under your Ubisoft Connect ID, in a folder named 1081 for Steam or 8006 for Ubisoft Connect and Epic.