Ubisoft has celebrated another significant milestone for Assassin's Creed Shadows, noting that the game has attracted 2 million players since its launch on March 20. This marks an impressive increase from the 1 million players on its first day, surpassing the launch figures of both Assassin's Creed Origins and Odyssey. Ubisoft expressed gratitude to fans, saying, "Thank you for joining the journey in Feudal Japan!"
Despite this success, Ubisoft has yet to disclose specific sales figures for Assassin's Creed Shadows. However, the game is currently the top-selling title on Steam, where Ubisoft has recently resumed releasing games after a period of exclusivity on the Epic Games Store. At the time of this article's publication, Assassin's Creed Shadows had reached a peak of 58,894 concurrent players on Steam, securing a spot in the top 30 most-played games on Valve's platform. This peak is anticipated to grow over the opening weekend.
For context, Assassin's Creed Origins achieved an all-time Steam peak of 41,551 players, while Odyssey reached 62,069. It seems likely that Shadows will soon claim the title of the most-played game on Steam this weekend.
Comparatively, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, a single-player RPG by BioWare, launched on Steam on October 31, 2024, and saw a peak of 89,418 players. However, the true concurrent peak for Assassin's Creed Shadows will be significantly higher, considering its availability on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, platforms for which player numbers are not publicly disclosed.
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The launch of Assassin's Creed Shadows comes at a critical time for Ubisoft, following several delays and the disappointing sales of Star Wars Outlaws last year. Ubisoft has faced numerous challenges, including high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations leading up to this release. The situation became so dire that the Guillemot family, Ubisoft's founders and largest shareholders, are reportedly in discussions with Tencent and other investors about a buyout to maintain control of the company.
Assassin's Creed Shadows has not been without its controversies, particularly in Japan. This week, IGN confirmed that Ubisoft released a day-one patch for the game, addressing concerns from some Japanese politicians regarding the depiction of in-game temples and shrines. In a notable exchange, Japanese politician Hiroyuki Kada raised the issue in a government meeting, to which Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba responded.
Despite these controversies, Assassin's Creed Shadows has been well-received on Steam, earning a 'very positive' user review rating, with 81% of over 6,000 reviews being positive. IGN's review awarded the game an 8/10, praising it for refining its open-world systems and delivering one of the best iterations of the series in the last decade.
For those eager to explore feudal Japan, 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.
