Assassin’s Creed Shadows Hits 3 Million Players, Ubisoft Yet to Reveal Sales

Ubisoft has proudly announced that Assassin’s Creed Shadows has surpassed 3 million players within just seven days of its launch on May 20. This impressive milestone reflects a significant increase from the 2 million players reported on the second day, outpacing the launch performances of both Origins and Odyssey.

In addition to the player count, Ubisoft shared other key statistics, which were previously highlighted by IGN's coverage of an internal company email. This email positioned Shadows' opening weekend performance favorably against Origins and Odyssey, but noted it did not match the exceptional launch of 2020's Valhalla, which benefited from unique market conditions.

Shadows achieved the second highest day one sales revenue in the Assassin's Creed franchise, only trailing behind Valhalla. It also marked the biggest day one launch for Ubisoft on the PlayStation Store, with players logging over 40 million hours of gameplay so far.

The release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows comes at a critical time for Ubisoft, following multiple delays and the disappointing sales of Star Wars Outlaws last year. The company has faced several challenges, including high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations leading up to Shadows' launch. Amidst these struggles, there were reports that Ubisoft's founding Guillemot family considered talks with Tencent and other investors about a potential buyout to retain control of the company's intellectual property. Consequently, the gaming industry is closely monitoring the early performance of Assassin’s Creed Shadows for indicators of its success or failure.

On Steam, Shadows has garnered significant attention, becoming the most-played Assassin's Creed game ever on the platform with a peak of 64,825 concurrent players over the weekend. This achievement is particularly notable as it was the first game in the series to launch day-one on Steam since Odyssey in 2018. Comparatively, BioWare's single-player RPG Dragon Age: The Veilguard reached a peak of 89,418 players on the same platform.

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While Assassin’s Creed Shadows has shown promising player engagement, it remains challenging to determine whether it meets, exceeds, or falls short of Ubisoft's expectations without specific data on revenue or sales. Ultimately, the financial performance of Shadows will be crucial not only for the game itself but also for Ubisoft's future. We may gain more insight into this when Ubisoft releases its next financial report in the coming months.

For those looking to dive into the world of feudal Japan with Assassin’s Creed Shadows, check out our comprehensive Assassin's Creed Shadows guide, including our Assassin's Creed Shadows walkthrough, our detailed Assassin's Creed Shadows Interactive Map, and our guide to all the crucial things Assassin’s Creed Shadows doesn’t tell you.