The pressure is mounting on Ubisoft's latest release, Assassin's Creed Shadows, to perform exceptionally well on a global scale, especially following several delays and the underwhelming sales of last year's Star Wars Outlaws. Ubisoft has faced a series of challenges, including high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations leading up to the launch of Shadows.
The situation at Ubisoft has become dire enough that the founding Guillemot family is reportedly exploring talks with Chinese mega-corp Tencent and other investors to secure a buyout deal that would allow them to retain control over the company's intellectual property.
The gaming community is keenly observing the early performance of Assassin’s Creed Shadows to gauge its success or failure. While Ubisoft has not yet disclosed specific sales figures, they announced that Shadows reached 2 million players within just two days of its launch, outperforming the initial launches of Origins and Odyssey.
There's significant interest in Shadows' concurrent player numbers on Steam, which are being benchmarked against other recent triple-A single-player titles and previous Assassin’s Creed entries on Valve’s platform. Over the weekend, Shadows achieved the highest peak concurrent player count in the series' history on Steam, reaching 64,825 players. It's important to note that Shadows was the first game in the franchise to launch on Steam on day one. For comparison, BioWare’s 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 company's specific goals. However, insights from an internal email reviewed by IGN provide a clearer picture of 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 Valhalla in 2020, which benefited from being released during the peak of the stay-at-home gaming surge caused by the pandemic. Additionally, Shadows recorded Ubisoft’s best-ever day-one launch on the PlayStation Store, indicating strong performance on the PS5.
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Regarding the PC platform, where Shadows was launched on both Steam and Ubisoft's own digital store, the internal communication reveals that 27% of the total "activations" occurred on PC. Ubisoft credits Steam with playing a "major role" in the game's PC performance, though specific sales data remains undisclosed. The company views these early results as a strong endorsement of their decision to return to the Steam platform.
Ubisoft is emphasizing the high levels of player engagement with Shadows, which they claim are at "record levels." They also highlight that feedback on moderated and verified platforms, less susceptible to review bombing, has been overwhelmingly positive. Shadows was the most wishlisted Ubisoft game ever and has outperformed any other Assassin’s Creed title on Twitch, including Valhalla.
Ubisoft's internal communication provides 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 circumstances 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 conditions. In this context, Shadows is setting new benchmarks.
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Ubisoft also noted that Shadows was released in March, deviating from the traditional launch window just before the U.S. Thanksgiving, which typically boosts sales. Additionally, Ubisoft did not offer an early access period for Shadows, which they usually charge extra for. It's also worth mentioning that Ubisoft's subscription service is now directly available on Xbox, which impacts sales on Microsoft's console and complicates sales comparisons.
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 performance will likely emerge with Ubisoft's next financial report in the coming months.
For those embarking on adventures in 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.
