Ubisoft has triumphantly announced that Assassin's Creed Shadows achieved a remarkable milestone, surpassing 1 million players on its launch day. The game, which hit the shelves for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S on March 20, saw this impressive figure before 4pm in Canada. Ubisoft expressed their gratitude on social media, 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 a significant achievement, it's challenging to fully assess the game's success without specific sales figures or targets from Ubisoft. However, it's clear that Assassin's Creed Shadows is currently the top-selling video game globally on Steam, based on Valve's revenue-based chart. Early data from Steam also shows that the game reached a peak concurrent player count of 41,412 on its launch day. Given that the game was released on a Thursday, it's anticipated that these numbers will increase over the weekend. A clearer picture of its performance on Steam will emerge in the coming weeks. It's worth noting that neither Sony nor Microsoft disclose player numbers publicly.
For comparison, BioWare's single-player RPG Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which launched on Steam on October 31, 2024, achieved a peak of 70,414 players on the platform.
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The success of Assassin's Creed Shadows is crucial for Ubisoft, especially following a series of delays and the commercial disappointment of last year's Star Wars Outlaws. 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 not been without controversy, particularly in Japan. IGN reported that Ubisoft released a day-one patch for Assassin’s Creed Shadows addressing concerns from some Japanese politicians about the depiction of in-game temples and shrines. This issue was even raised in an official government meeting by Japanese politician Hiroyuki Kada, with a response from Japan's 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 reviews being positive. IGN's review of the game awarded it an 8/10, praising it as "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, reports suggest that Ubisoft's founding Guillemot family and largest shareholder are in discussions with Chinese mega-corp Tencent and other investors regarding a potential buyout deal that would allow them to retain control.
