Ubisoft announced that Assassin’s Creed Shadows achieved a remarkable feat by surpassing 1 million players on its launch day. The game, which debuted on March 20 across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S, hit this milestone before 4pm in Canada. Ubisoft expressed their gratitude, stating, “It's not even 4pm here in Canada and Assassin's Creed Shadows has already passed 1 million players! Thank YOU from the bottom of our hearts for joining this adventure in Feudal Japan. We are beyond excited to start this journey with you!”
While reaching 1 million players on launch day is an impressive achievement, it's challenging to fully assess the game's success without sales figures or targets from Ubisoft. However, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is currently the top-selling video game globally on Steam, based on revenue, indicating strong financial performance on the platform.
On Steam, Assassin’s Creed Shadows achieved a peak concurrent player count of 41,412 on its launch day. Released on a Thursday, it's anticipated that these numbers will increase over the game's first weekend. A clearer picture of its performance on Steam will emerge in the coming weeks. Notably, neither Sony nor Microsoft disclose player numbers publicly.
For comparison, BioWare’s Dragon Age: The Veilguard, a single-player RPG that launched on Steam on October 31, 2024, reached a peak of 70,414 players.
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There is significant pressure on Assassin's Creed Shadows to perform well globally for Ubisoft, especially following delays and the sales disappointment of Star Wars Outlaws last year. Ubisoft has faced numerous challenges, including high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations leading up to the release of Assassin's Creed Shadows.
The game has also been embroiled in controversies, particularly in Japan. Ubisoft released a day-one patch for Assassin’s Creed Shadows that made significant changes, seemingly in response to concerns raised by some Japanese politicians about the depiction of in-game temples and shrines. In a notable government meeting, Japanese politician Hiroyuki Kada addressed the issue, prompting a response from Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
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On Steam, Assassin's Creed Shadows is receiving positive feedback from players, boasting a 'very positive' user review rating, with 82% of nearly 4,000 user reviews being positive. IGN’s review of Assassin’s Creed Shadows awarded it an 8/10, praising the game by stating, “By sharpening the edges of its existing systems, Assassin’s Creed Shadows creates one of the best versions of the open-world style it’s been honing for the last decade.”
Amidst these developments, Ubisoft’s founding Guillemot family and largest shareholder are reportedly in discussions with Chinese mega-corp Tencent and other investors about a potential buyout deal that would allow them to maintain control.
