Assassin's Creed Shadows Hits 3 Million Players, Ubisoft Withholds Sales Data

Ubisoft has announced that Assassin’s Creed Shadows has attracted over 3 million players just seven days after its launch on May 20. This impressive milestone surpasses the initial player counts of both Origins and Odyssey, with the game reaching 2 million players by its second day. Ubisoft's internal data, previously shared by IGN, highlighted that Shadows performed better than Origins and Odyssey during its opening weekend, though it didn't match the exceptional launch of Valhalla in 2020.

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

The success of Assassin’s Creed Shadows is crucial for Ubisoft, especially following a challenging period marked by delays, the sales disappointment of Star Wars Outlaws, and other setbacks including high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations. The pressure is on for Shadows to perform well globally, as Ubisoft's founding Guillemot family has been exploring potential buyout deals with investors like Tencent to maintain control over the company's intellectual property.

The gaming community is closely monitoring Shadows' performance, particularly its concurrent player numbers on Steam. Over the weekend, Shadows became the most-played Assassin's Creed game on Steam with a peak of 64,825 concurrent players, the first in the series to launch day-one on the platform since Odyssey in 2018. For comparison, Dragon Age: The Veilguard by BioWare reached a peak of 89,418 players on Steam.

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While Shadows has shown strong player engagement, it's difficult to determine if it's meeting Ubisoft's expectations without specific revenue or sales figures. Ultimately, the financial performance of Assassin’s Creed Shadows will be a key indicator of its success and could impact Ubisoft's future. More detailed insights may be available in Ubisoft's upcoming financial reports.

For those eager to explore the world of feudal Japan in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, be sure to 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.