The stakes couldn't be higher for Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Shadows following a series of delays and the disappointing sales of last year's Star Wars Outlaws. Ubisoft has faced a barrage of challenges, including high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations leading up to the release of Assassin's Creed Shadows. Amid these struggles, the Guillemot family, founders of Ubisoft, are reportedly engaging in discussions with Chinese conglomerate Tencent and other investors about a potential buyout that would allow them to maintain control over the company's intellectual property.
The gaming community is keenly observing the initial performance of Assassin's Creed Shadows to gauge its success or failure. While Ubisoft has not yet disclosed specific sales figures, they announced that the game reached 2 million players within just two days of its launch, outperforming the initial releases of both Origins and Odyssey.
Attention is also focused on Shadows' concurrent player numbers on Steam, which are being benchmarked against other recent triple-A single-player releases and past entries in the Assassin's Creed series. Over the weekend, Shadows achieved the highest peak concurrent players for any Assassin's Creed game on Steam, with 64,825 players. This is particularly notable as it was the first game in the series to launch on Steam on day one. For comparison, BioWare's single-player RPG, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, peaked at 89,418 players on the platform.
Determining whether Shadows meets, exceeds, or falls short of Ubisoft's expectations is challenging without knowing the specific targets set by the company. However, insights from an internal Ubisoft email, reviewed by IGN, shed light on the game's performance over its first weekend.
According to the internal communication, Shadows achieved the second-highest day-one sales revenue in the franchise's history, only surpassed by Assassin's Creed Valhalla in 2020, which benefited from the unique circumstances of the global pandemic and the launch of new console generations. Shadows also set a record for Ubisoft's best day-one launch on the PlayStation Store, indicating strong performance on the PS5.
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On the PC front, where Shadows was released on both Steam and Ubisoft's own digital store, 27% of the game's total "activations" occurred on PC. Ubisoft credits Steam with playing a "major role" in the game's PC performance, though exact sales figures remain undisclosed. The company views the early results as a strong endorsement of their decision to return to the Steam platform.
Ubisoft is emphasizing high player engagement, which they report is at "record levels," and positive feedback from moderated, verified platforms, which are less susceptible to review bombing. Shadows was the most-wishlisted Ubisoft game ever and is outperforming all other Assassin's Creed titles on Twitch, including Valhalla.
Ubisoft's internal communications provide context for comparing Shadows' launch with other games in the franchise. While Shadows did not match Valhalla's launch performance, Ubisoft argues that such a comparison is unfair due to the unique conditions surrounding Valhalla's release during the global pandemic and the launch of new console hardware. Instead, Ubisoft suggests comparing Shadows to games like Origins, Odyssey, and Mirage, which were released under more typical circumstances. In this context, Shadows is setting new benchmarks.
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Ubisoft also highlighted that Shadows was released in March, deviating from the traditional launch timing just before the U.S. Thanksgiving period, which typically boosts sales. Additionally, Ubisoft did not offer an early access period for Shadows, a strategy they have used with previous titles. The availability of Ubisoft's subscription service directly on Xbox further complicates sales comparisons on Microsoft's console.
Ultimately, the financial success of Assassin's Creed Shadows will be a critical factor not only for the game itself but for Ubisoft's future. A clearer picture of its financial impact will likely emerge with Ubisoft's next financial report in the coming months.
For those embarking on the journey through feudal Japan, explore 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.
