A recent Windows Update, identified by the code KB5066835, has indeed caused substantial performance drops in PC games.
A few days ago, NVIDIA released a new GeForce hotfix driver, version 581.94, following reports from several gamers of lower performance in some titles. Now, Digital Foundry has looked into the issue and verified that, without the hotfix and with the aforementioned Windows Update, Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Shadows takes a major frame rate hit. In Digital Foundry's test, the game ran between 33% and 50% worse on a PC equipped with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU and an Nvidia RTX 5090 GPU after installing that Windows Update. The GeForce hotfix resolves the situation, so you should definitely install it if you are currently playing the game. Another option would be to remove the Windows Update, but the existence of the hotfix makes this redundant.
Anyway, we have sent an inquiry to Microsoft to understand what happened here. It's not the first time a Windows Update creates issues in games, but to this extent, it is perhaps unheard of.
In other news, Assassin's Creed Shadows just received its 1.1.6 Title Update. It introduces a special collaboration with the Attack on Titan franchise, featuring a new time-limited quest that will only be available through December 22. Alongside the story quest, an Attack on Titan Dual Pack is also available for purchase from the in-game store. Drawing inspiration from the Attack on Titan universe, this pack will include outfits, weapons, trinkets, and a new mount.
A new regular side quest called A Puzzlement is also available. In this mission, protagonists Naoe and Yasuke will each learn a move from the other. Naoe will learn how to perform her own spectacular version of Yasuke's war kick ability, while Yasuke will learn how to dispatch enemies in a non-lethal, stealthy way.
Assassin's Creed Shadows, which Ubisoft recently confirmed has performed well so far, will launch next week on Nintendo Switch 2.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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