"Assassin's Creed Shadows Surpasses 2 Million Players in Two Days, Outperforming Origins and Odyssey Launches"

Ubisoft has celebrated another significant milestone for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, announcing that the game has now attracted 2 million players since its launch on March 20. This impressive number is a substantial increase from the 1 million players it garnered on its first day. Ubisoft proudly noted that this achievement surpasses the launch figures of both Assassin’s Creed Origins and Odyssey, thanking players for joining the journey in Feudal Japan.

While Ubisoft has not disclosed specific sales figures for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, it's clear that the game is enjoying robust popularity. Notably, it has become the top-selling game on Steam, marking Ubisoft's return to the platform after years of exclusivity on the Epic Games Store. At the time of writing, Assassin’s Creed Shadows had reached a peak of 58,894 concurrent players on Steam, placing it within the top 30 most-played games on Valve’s platform. This number is expected to rise further over the game's opening weekend.

For context, Assassin’s Creed Origins achieved a peak of 41,551 players on Steam, while Odyssey reached 62,069. Given these comparisons, it seems likely that Assassin’s Creed Shadows will soon claim the title of the most-played Assassin’s Creed game on Steam. It’s important to note, however, that the total concurrent peak across all platforms, including PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, will be significantly higher, although exact figures from Sony and Microsoft are not publicly available.

The launch of Assassin’s Creed Shadows comes at a critical time for Ubisoft, following multiple delays and the underwhelming sales of last year’s Star Wars Outlaws. The company has faced a series of challenges, including high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations. The pressure on Assassin’s Creed Shadows to perform well globally is immense, especially amid reports that Ubisoft's founding Guillemot family and largest shareholder are considering discussions with Tencent and other investors about a potential buyout to retain control of the company.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows itself has not been without controversy, particularly in Japan. This week, IGN confirmed that Ubisoft released a day-one patch addressing concerns raised by some Japanese politicians regarding in-game representations of temples and shrines. The issue was even brought up in an official government meeting by Japanese politician Hiroyuki Kada, with a response from Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

On Steam, the reception to Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been overwhelmingly positive, with 81% of over 6,000 user reviews marking it as 'very positive'. IGN’s review of Assassin’s Creed Shadows awarded it an 8/10, praising the game for refining its open-world systems to create one of the best iterations in the series to date.

For those eager to explore Feudal Japan through Assassin’s Creed Shadows, be sure to check out our comprehensive guide, including a detailed walkthrough, an interactive map, and essential tips that the game doesn't explicitly cover.