Summary:
The latest Assassin’s Creed Shadows update on Nintendo Switch 2 is built around one simple promise: make the game feel dependable again. If you’ve been playing with that tiny fear in the back of your mind – the “is this the moment it crashes?” feeling – this patch is meant to calm things down. Ubisoft’s Title Update 1.1.7 calls out Switch 2 improvements directly, including fixed crashes for stability, improved FPS issues, and various visual fixes, plus touchscreen improvements. In other words, it’s not just one bandage slapped on the problem. It’s a set of practical repairs that aim to make both docked and handheld sessions feel smoother and less fussy.
What’s interesting is how these fixes tend to show up in real play. Stability work often removes those random-looking shutdowns that happen after long sessions, quick resumes, busy city runs, or fast travel chains. Performance work usually tries to protect a 30fps target by smoothing out the worst dips, especially in crowded districts where NPC simulation and streaming can stack up like a traffic jam. Visual fixes can show up as cleaner handheld clarity, fewer “soft” moments, and fewer distracting artifacts during motion. The patch also mentions touchscreen improvements, which sounds small, but it can genuinely reduce friction when you’re managing the map, menus, and inventory on a portable screen. From settings tweaks to troubleshooting steps, we’ll walk through what changed, how to get the best feel out of it, and what to do if anything still acts up.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Update 1.1.7 changes on Nintendo Switch 2
Title Update 1.1.7 is the kind of patch that focuses on the stuff you only notice when it’s broken. Ubisoft specifically calls out Switch 2 improvements like fixing crashes for stability, improving various FPS issues, fixing various visual issues, and improving the touchscreen experience. That list matters because it tells us the update isn’t narrowly targeting one scenario. It’s aiming at the whole “day-to-day” experience: booting up, moving through busy areas, bouncing between combat and exploration, and navigating menus without friction. If your sessions felt like walking on a loose floorboard – mostly fine until one bad step sends everything dropping out – this update is trying to hammer those boards down. And because it’s framed as a set of fixes rather than a single magic bullet, we should expect the biggest wins to be consistency: fewer sudden crashes, fewer ugly dips, and fewer handheld moments where the image feels softer than it should.
Why crashes showed up in the first place
Crashes on a big open-world release usually come from systems stacking on top of each other at the worst possible time. Think of it like juggling while walking up stairs: each individual thing might be manageable, but one wobble and everything goes flying. In Assassin’s Creed Shadows, we’re dealing with streaming world data, saving and autosaving, loading NPC behavior, managing combat effects, and handling transitions like fast travel or cutscenes. On Switch 2, the port also has its own platform-specific quirks, like dock and undock transitions, controller handoffs, and different performance modes. When players reported repeated crashes, it likely wasn’t because one sword swing is cursed. It’s more often a chain reaction: a heavy area, a quick transition, a save trigger, then a memory spike or a timing issue. The good news is that stability fixes are usually targeted and measurable. When they land, the game stops “falling over” during the same repeatable stress points.
What “stability improvements” usually cover
When patch notes say “fixed crashes for stability improvements,” it’s easy to picture a developer pressing a big red “Stop Crashing” button. Real life is messier, but also more encouraging. Stability work often means cleaning up memory leaks, tightening how the game frees resources after big scenes, and fixing edge cases where an event loads twice or unloads at the wrong time. It can also include platform-specific fixes, like preventing black-screen hangs during account or audio pack selection flows, or smoothing how the game behaves when the system changes state. Ubisoft also lists a Switch 2-specific fix for a controller connection prompt that could appear during dock or undock, which hints at the kind of platform integration bugs that can cause knock-on issues. None of this is glamorous, but it’s exactly what we want. Stability patches are like replacing a shaky ladder rung. You don’t cheer for the rung, you just enjoy not falling.
How we can tell the fix is actually working
The easiest way to judge stability is not by one heroic two-hour session, but by repeating the habits that used to trigger problems. If crashes happened most often after fast travel, after long docked sessions, or when sprinting through crowded city routes, we should do those things again and see whether the game stays upright. A stable build usually feels boring in the best way – no surprises, no sudden exits, no “Well, I guess we’re done now” moments. Another tell is how the game behaves after quick resume-style behavior: returning to play, opening menus, then jumping straight back into action. If the update truly addressed stability, those transitions should feel smoother and less risky. We should also pay attention to whether the game recovers better from heavy moments, like big fights or dense markets, without hitching into a crash. The goal isn’t perfection in one evening. The goal is trust: we stop thinking about crashes entirely because the game stops giving us reasons to worry.
Performance tuning and protecting the 30fps target
On Switch 2, a 30fps target is like a tightrope act: it can look elegant when it’s steady, but one gust of wind and everyone notices. Ubisoft lists “improved various FPS issues” for Switch 2, which suggests the update is trying to reduce the worst dips and smooth the overall feel. Even if the top number stays the same, performance can still feel better if frame pacing improves and the game avoids sudden stutters in the busiest areas. This matters a lot in Assassin’s Creed Shadows because movement and timing are the heart of the experience. Sneaking, parrying, climbing, and reacting to enemy tells all feel worse when the game gets choppy. The best performance patches don’t necessarily make everything faster. They make everything steadier. That steadiness is what keeps exploration feeling fluid and combat feeling fair, especially in areas that used to drag performance down.
Busy districts, CPU load, and background streaming
Cities are gorgeous, but they’re also performance bullies. In a dense district, the game is simulating more NPCs, more pathing, more interactions, more ambient effects, and more streaming of textures and geometry. It’s like trying to run a quiet conversation inside a crowded train station. Even if the console is capable, the workload spikes are real. When an update mentions FPS improvements, one common approach is optimizing how these systems update, so the game doesn’t try to do everything at once. Another approach is reducing worst-case load by limiting how many NPCs are active in the most demanding areas. That lines up with what some early player reports have suggested after the patch, especially in terms of crowd density changes to protect 30fps in certain locations. Whether the adjustment is big or subtle, the point is the same: the game prioritizes staying smooth over showing one extra passerby you’ll forget five seconds later.
Why crowd density tweaks can help without ruining immersion
“Lower crowd density” sounds scary until you remember what our brains actually focus on. We don’t count NPCs like we’re doing taxes. We feel atmosphere. If the lighting, audio, and movement still sell the place, we’ll accept a slightly thinner crowd as long as the city still feels alive. In practice, crowd density tweaks can be incredibly targeted: fewer NPCs in the far background, fewer idle groups in narrow bottlenecks, or slightly reduced spawn rates during heavy action moments. It’s like turning down the number of background instruments so the main melody stays clear. The best version of this change is one you only notice if you compare side by side. What we feel instead is that traversal stays smooth, camera motion doesn’t hitch as often, and combat in busy areas doesn’t turn into a slideshow. If that’s the trade, most players will take it happily. Smooth gameplay beats a crowded street that crashes the party.
Frame pacing vs frame rate and why both matter
Frame rate is the headline number, but frame pacing is the vibe. Two games can both run at 30fps and still feel totally different. If frames arrive unevenly – a quick burst, then a pause, then another burst – the game can feel jittery even though the “average” looks fine. That’s why performance patches often focus on stability rather than chasing higher peaks. When Ubisoft says “improved various FPS issues,” we can read that as an attempt to reduce these uneven moments, especially in complex scenes. For players, the difference shows up in camera pans, quick turns, and fast movement through dense environments. If motion feels more consistent, handheld play feels less tiring on the eyes and docked play feels less like it’s fighting the TV. This is also where small optimizations matter: a smoother stream-in of assets, fewer micro-stutters after menu closes, and fewer hitches when the game saves in the background. The best compliment we can give frame pacing is that we stop noticing it at all.
Handheld clarity, blur, and what “visual fixes” can mean
Handheld visuals are always a balancing act, because the game is trying to look good on a smaller screen without burning performance budget. Ubisoft’s Switch 2 notes include “fixed various visual issues,” and player chatter around the update has pointed to handheld looking a bit clearer. Even without chasing technical jargon, we can explain what usually causes that “blurry” feeling. It’s often a mix of dynamic resolution scaling, temporal anti-aliasing, and post-processing that prioritizes stability over sharpness. The result is a softer image, especially in motion, where the game is trying to keep edges clean and avoid shimmering. Visual fixes can target things like overly aggressive blur filters, reconstruction artifacts, or sharpening passes that weren’t tuned correctly. If the patch adjusted any of those, handheld can look cleaner without necessarily pushing higher resolution. The best outcome is simple: text looks crisper, fine details hold together better, and the world feels less smeared when we move the camera.
Scaling, anti-aliasing, and why portable play can look softer
When we play handheld, we’re looking at a smaller display with different viewing distance, which changes what “sharp” feels like. The game may also run at a different internal resolution in portable mode, then scale up to fit the screen. Add temporal techniques that blend frames together to reduce jagged edges, and suddenly the image can look like it’s been lightly rubbed with a thumb. Not ruined, just softened. Fixing visual issues can mean adjusting the balance: reducing the strength of certain blur passes, improving reconstruction, or tuning how the game handles motion and contrast. The tricky part is that sharpening can introduce noise and flicker if it’s too strong, especially on foliage and fine patterns. So a smart fix aims for stability: keep edges steady, keep textures readable, and avoid making the whole image look like it’s vibrating. If handheld looks clearer after the patch, it’s likely because Ubisoft adjusted that balance so the picture keeps its shape during movement instead of melting into mush.
Settings and habits that usually sharpen handheld play
Even with a patch, we can help handheld clarity by being intentional with a few choices. First, if there’s a toggle or slider related to motion blur, it’s worth reducing it if you’re sensitive to softness during camera pans. Motion blur can look cinematic, but it can also make an already-soft image feel even hazier. Second, pay attention to any settings that affect post-processing or image effects. If there’s an option that trades visual effects for stability, we might keep stability but reduce the heaviest effects that smear detail. Third, consider how we play: handheld sessions often happen in varied lighting, and glare can make any image look worse. Bright room light can turn subtle blur into “why does everything look foggy?” Finally, rebooting the game after the update and letting it settle can help if the system had lingering state from an older build. It sounds basic, but it’s like putting on glasses you forgot you needed. Small tweaks plus a cleaner baseline can make handheld look noticeably better, even if the core resolution target didn’t change.
Touchscreen improvements and small quality-of-life wins
Touchscreen improvements won’t make headlines like “fixed crashes,” but they can quietly make Switch 2 feel like the best place to play. Ubisoft lists “improved the touchscreen experience” specifically for Switch 2, and that’s a big hint that they’ve adjusted responsiveness, hit detection, or menu behavior. In a game with maps, menus, inventory management, and quest tracking, touch can turn fiddly navigation into something quick and natural. It’s the difference between wrestling a shopping cart with a wobbly wheel and pushing one that actually goes where you point it. Better touch support also reduces the need to constantly switch grip styles or reach for buttons when you’re in portable mode. If the update also addressed a dock or undock controller prompt issue, that’s another small-but-important friction point getting sanded down. These are the fixes that don’t feel exciting on paper, but they add up. When the interface stops fighting us, the world feels more inviting, and we spend more time playing and less time poking at menus like they owe us money.
The best routine after installing the update
After any major patch, the goal is to start fresh without turning it into a whole weekend project. A good routine is simple: update, reboot, and then play in the modes that matter most to you. If you’re primarily handheld, do a quick test run that includes a crowded area, a bit of combat, a menu-heavy moment, and a fast travel. If you’re mostly docked, do the same but pay attention to camera pans and busier scenes where frame dips used to show up. Keep an eye on how the game behaves during transitions: opening the map, returning to gameplay, starting a cutscene, or resuming after sleep. If the patch is doing its job, those moments should feel less risky. It’s also smart to let the game run for a solid session, because stability issues sometimes only appear after the system has been streaming assets for a while. The best sign is confidence. When we stop tiptoeing around “problem zones,” we know the update is earning its keep.
Troubleshooting if crashes or weird bugs continue
If you still get crashes after the update, it doesn’t automatically mean the patch failed. Sometimes the game is fixed, but your install, data, or storage setup is the messy part of the equation. Start with the obvious checks: make sure the game is fully updated and that the download didn’t silently pause. Then look at where the game is installed. If you’re running from external storage, try moving the game to system storage to see whether stability improves. That’s not a permanent requirement, but it’s a clean test that can reveal whether read speeds or file integrity are contributing. Another common trouble spot is corrupted data, which can happen after repeated crashes. If the system offers a way to check for corrupted data, use it. If issues persist, reinstalling the game can sound dramatic, but it’s often faster than living with constant instability. Finally, keep your test focused. Recreate the same scenario that used to crash and see if it still happens. That’s how we separate “random bad luck” from an actual ongoing problem.
Storage checks, reinstall steps, and save sync sanity
When stability is the goal, we want to remove variables. First, confirm you have enough free storage space, because low space can cause weird behavior during caching or patching. Second, if the game supports cloud saves or cross-progression through Ubisoft Connect, make sure your saves are synced before you do anything drastic. Ubisoft’s patch notes also mention fixing an infinite black screen related to Ubisoft Connect account creation or login when selecting an audio pack from the initial boot menu, which tells us that account-related flows were part of the problem space. If you’re seeing anything odd with login prompts, try logging in cleanly from the main menu and letting it settle before jumping into gameplay. If a reinstall is needed, delete the game, reinstall, apply the update, then launch once and let the game reach the menu before hammering sleep mode or swapping docked and handheld repeatedly. It’s not superstition. It’s just giving the system a clean baseline. Once that baseline is stable, you can play normally without thinking about the scaffolding holding it up.
What to watch for in future updates
Title Update 1.1.7 is a strong signal that Ubisoft is actively tuning the Switch 2 version, but future updates will likely decide how “locked in” the experience feels long term. The next things to watch are consistency improvements: fewer dips in the busiest districts, smoother camera motion, and fewer visual artifacts during motion. If the patch already improved FPS issues and fixed various visual issues, follow-up updates might refine those changes rather than reinvent them. Another area to watch is docked behavior, since docked play can surface different performance and presentation challenges than handheld. We should also keep an eye on interface and platform integration. Fixes like the dock or undock controller prompt issue show that the team is paying attention to Switch 2-specific friction points, not just the game itself. Over time, the best outcome is that Switch 2 stops feeling like “the port” and starts feeling like “a version we can trust.” That doesn’t require miracles. It requires steady polish, patch by patch, until the game feels solid in every mode we actually use.
Is it time to jump back in on Switch 2
If crashes were the thing pushing you away, this update is aimed directly at that pain. Ubisoft explicitly lists fixed crashes for stability improvements on Switch 2, and that alone is a big deal for anyone who felt like the game was daring them to make progress. On top of that, performance improvements can make moment-to-moment play feel smoother, especially in dense areas that used to drag the experience down. Visual fixes and touchscreen improvements sweeten the deal, because they target the everyday feel of handheld sessions, where clarity and navigation matter. The honest answer is that a patch can’t rewrite history. If you had a rough launch experience, you’re allowed to be skeptical. But patches like this are how games earn back trust: fewer interruptions, fewer headaches, and more time actually enjoying feudal Japan instead of staring at a home screen. So yes, it’s a good moment to revisit. And if you still hit issues, troubleshooting steps and future updates give you a path forward, instead of leaving you stuck in crash roulette.
Conclusion
Title Update 1.1.7 is built around the fixes Switch 2 players care about most: stability, smoother performance, and fewer visual annoyances. Ubisoft’s notes are clear that crashes were addressed, FPS issues were improved, and visual issues were fixed, alongside touchscreen improvements and other Switch 2-specific polish. If your experience was getting interrupted by repeated crashes, this patch is meant to bring the game back to something we can trust for longer sessions. Performance work should also help keep the 30fps target feeling steadier in the moments that matter, especially when the world gets busy. And if handheld looked softer than you wanted, visual fixes plus a few smart settings choices can make portable play feel cleaner. The best part is simple: we get to focus on stealth routes, fights, and exploration again, not on babysitting the game and hoping it behaves.
FAQs
- Does the Switch 2 update actually fix the crashing problem?
- Ubisoft’s Title Update 1.1.7 notes list “fixed crashes for stability improvements” on Nintendo Switch 2, which is the direct fix aimed at repeated crash reports.
- What does “improved various FPS issues” usually mean in real play?
- It typically means fewer heavy dips and less hitching in demanding scenes, plus a steadier feel during movement and combat, even if the target frame rate stays the same.
- Why would crowd density changes help performance?
- Busy areas load NPC simulation and streaming harder, so reducing background load in specific hotspots can help protect smoother play without changing the core look and feel.
- Why can handheld look blurry even when the game runs fine?
- Portable play often relies on dynamic resolution and anti-aliasing that prioritize stability, which can soften the image, especially during camera motion and fast movement.
- What should we do if crashes still happen after updating?
- Check the game is fully updated, consider testing system storage vs external storage, run any available corrupted data checks, and reinstall if needed after confirming saves are synced.
Sources
- AC Shadows Title Update 1.1.7 – Release Notes, Ubisoft, December 15, 2025
- Assassin’s Creed Shadows Update To Resolve Switch 2 Crashes And Stability Issues, Nintendo Life, December 9, 2025
- Patch to fix crashes for Assassin’s Creed Shadows on Switch 2 coming next week, Vooks, December 9, 2025
- Assassin’s Creed Shadows Nintendo Switch 2 update is now live, My Nintendo News, December 17, 2025
