To change seasons in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, open the in-game menu, go to the World tab, and hold Change Season in the top right corner. The option only appears after you complete the main story quest An Unpayable Debt, and it only works when the season progression bar is at least half full.
Below we cover the unlock, the timer that gates it, what a season change resets across the map, how each season changes stealth for Naoe and Yasuke, and when forcing one is worth it. Everything here is verified against Ubisoft’s own help pages and official patch notes up to Title Update 1.1.13.
How to Change Seasons, Step by Step
Per Ubisoft’s help article on changing seasons, the process is:
- Finish the main quest An Unpayable Debt. Before that, seasons still change, but only on their own.
- Check the season progression bar. The season compass fills as the season runs; player guides describe it sitting in the top right of the map, with small markers at the halfway and full points.
- Open the in-game menu and select the World tab.
- In the top right corner, hold Change Season.
Ubisoft lists four seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter) that also change automatically over time. If the bar is less than half full the prompt will not go through, which is the most common reason players think the feature is broken.
Early player guides also describe a shortcut from the map screen (holding right on the D-pad on controller, or a held key on PC). Ubisoft’s documentation only lists the World tab route, so if a shortcut prompt does not appear on your platform, use the menu. Ubisoft’s article gives the one route for every platform, including the Nintendo Switch 2 version.
What a Season Change Resets
Turning the season is not cosmetic. Ubisoft ties several systems to the end of a season, and forcing a change triggers all of them at once:
- Scouts come home. Per Ubisoft’s exploration overview, deployed scouts return at the end of the season and become deployable again. This is the free alternative to paying mon at a kakurega. Our scouts guide covers how to spend them.
- Smuggled stockpiles pay out. Every resource stockpile you flagged for a scout is cashed in for Hideout resources when the season ends, which feeds straight into gathering resources.
- Provincial alerts clear. If an alarm has sent Guardians after you, the turn of the season cancels it (switching protagonists or spending scouts also works).
- Merchant stock refreshes. Since Title Update 1.0.5, merchants sell a smaller quantity of crafting materials and Hideout resources each season, so the season turn is what restocks them.
- Corrupted Castles reroll. The Animus activity added in Title Update 1.1.4 places up to five Corrupted Castles on the map each season.
Many player guides also list enemy camps, contracts and loose world resources as resetting. Early player reports say cleared areas do repopulate after a season change, but Ubisoft has not published a full list, so treat that as likely rather than guaranteed.
Seasons and Saves: One Fix Worth Knowing
Before Title Update 1.1.7 in December 2025, loading a save made before a season change could respawn enemies and loot, and reset Corrupted Castles. Both were fixed in that update, so reloading an older save no longer lets you farm the same season twice. If you want a clean fallback before forcing a change, make a manual save first; our save guide explains the slot limits.
What Each Season Changes About Play
Per the developers in Ubisoft’s PC and console features Q and A, seasons change more than the colour palette:
Winter strips out some bushes and vegetation, so there is less cover. Snow slows Naoe down but not Yasuke, and icicles can fall from roofs, making noise that enemies hear and react to. Player guides also describe ponds freezing over into walkable routes.
Spring through autumn is where the cover comes back. Ubisoft says agriculture changes across the seasons and creates new hiding spots, and player guides single out summer’s tall grass and crops as the best stealth cover in the game.
Weather runs on top of the season. Rain covers footstep noise and sends higher-ranking enemies under roofs, which changes patrols regardless of the season.
When to Force a Change
- You are out of scouts and do not want to pay mon to recall them.
- You have flagged stockpiles and want the payout now instead of in an hour.
- Guardians are hunting you after a provincial alarm.
- The season fights your plan, typically a Naoe stealth run in winter.
Otherwise, letting seasons turn naturally is fine. If you only want a different time of day, Ubisoft added a separate option to fast-forward the time of day in a 2025 update, so you do not need to burn a season for that. For the rest of the cluster, see our Assassin’s Creed Shadows guides hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you change seasons in AC Shadows? Open the in-game menu, go to the World tab, and hold Change Season in the top right corner. It requires the An Unpayable Debt quest to be complete.
Why can’t I change the season? Either you have not finished An Unpayable Debt yet, or the season progression bar on the compass is less than half full. Wait until it reaches the halfway marker.
Does changing seasons reset anything? Yes. Scouts return, flagged stockpiles pay out, provincial alerts clear, merchant stock refreshes and new Corrupted Castles can appear.
Which season is best for stealth? The warmer seasons, because crops and vegetation add hiding spots. Winter removes some cover and slows Naoe in snow, though icicles give you a noise distraction.
How often do seasons change on their own? Ubisoft only says seasons turn dynamically over time. Early player reports put a full season at roughly two hours of play, and fast travel or a cutscene often triggers the turn once the bar is full.