The pressure on Ubisoft's latest release, Assassin's Creed Shadows, is immense following a series of setbacks including the disappointing sales of Star Wars Outlaws, high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations. The situation at Ubisoft has become dire enough that the founding Guillemot family is reportedly in discussions with Chinese conglomerate Tencent and other investors about a potential buyout that would allow them to retain control over the company's intellectual property.
The gaming community is closely monitoring the early performance of Assassin's Creed Shadows to gauge its success or failure. While Ubisoft has not disclosed specific sales figures, they reported that the game reached 2 million players just two days after its launch, outpacing the initial performance of Origins and Odyssey.
Attention is also focused on Shadows' concurrent player numbers on Steam, which reached a peak of 64,825 over the weekend, making it the most-played Assassin's Creed game on the platform to date. This is particularly notable as Shadows was the first in the series to launch directly on Steam. For comparison, Dragon Age: The Veilguard peaked at 89,418 players on Steam.
Determining whether Shadows meets, exceeds, or falls short of Ubisoft's expectations is challenging without knowing the exact benchmarks set by the company. However, an internal email reviewed by IGN provides insight into the game's performance over its first weekend. It revealed that 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. On PC, 27% of the game's activations were recorded, with Steam playing a significant role in its success, although specific sales figures were not disclosed. Ubisoft emphasized that the early results validate their decision to return to the Steam platform.
Player engagement for Shadows is reportedly at record levels, with positive feedback across moderated and verified platforms. It was the most-wishlisted Ubisoft game ever and is outperforming all previous Assassin's Creed titles on Twitch, including Valhalla.
Ubisoft's internal communications contextualize Shadows' launch performance, noting that while it does not match Valhalla's launch, the comparison is unfair due to the unique conditions that boosted Valhalla's sales. Instead, Shadows should be compared to games like Origins, Odyssey, and Mirage, which were released during more typical market conditions. In this context, Shadows is setting new benchmarks.
It's also important to consider that Shadows was released in March, outside of the typical pre-Thanksgiving launch window that often boosts sales. Additionally, Ubisoft opted not to offer an early access period and introduced their subscription service directly on Xbox, which impacts sales comparisons.
Ultimately, the financial success of Assassin's Creed Shadows will be crucial not only for the game itself but for Ubisoft's future. Clear insights into its financial performance may only be available with Ubisoft's upcoming financial reports.
For those exploring the world of Assassin's Creed Shadows, check out our comprehensive guide, including our walkthrough, interactive map, and insights into the game's hidden details.
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