"Assassin’s Creed Shadows Hits 3 Million Players, Ubisoft Silent on Sales"

Ubisoft has announced that Assassin’s Creed Shadows has attracted over 3 million players since its launch on May 20. This impressive milestone was achieved within just seven days, surpassing the initial player counts of both Origins and Odyssey. The game saw 2 million players by the second day, highlighting its strong start.

Ubisoft has shared additional statistics, previously reported by IGN, which contextualize Shadows' performance against other titles in the series. The company noted that Shadows' opening weekend was more comparable to Origins and Odyssey rather than the exceptional launch of Valhalla in 2020. Shadows achieved the second highest day one sales revenue in the Assassin's Creed franchise, only behind Valhalla, and set a record for Ubisoft's biggest day one sales on the PlayStation Store. To date, players have logged over 40 million hours in the game.

The launch of Assassin's Creed Shadows comes at a critical time for Ubisoft, following a series of delays and the disappointing sales of Star Wars Outlaws last year. Ubisoft faced numerous challenges, including high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations leading up to Shadows' release. Amid these difficulties, the Guillemot family, Ubisoft's founders, reportedly considered a buyout deal with investors such as Chinese mega-corp Tencent to retain control of the company's intellectual property. As a result, the gaming industry is closely monitoring Assassin's Creed Shadows' early performance as an indicator of Ubisoft's future.

On Steam, Assassin's Creed Shadows set a new record for the series with a peak of 64,825 concurrent players over the weekend, marking the highest concurrent player count for any Assassin's Creed game on the platform since Odyssey in 2018. For context, BioWare's Dragon Age: The Veilguard reached a peak of 89,418 players on Steam.

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It's challenging to determine whether Assassin's Creed Shadows is meeting, exceeding, or falling short of Ubisoft's expectations without specific details on those expectations, revenue, or sales figures. Ultimately, the game's financial performance will be crucial not only for its success but also for Ubisoft's future. We may need to wait for Ubisoft's next financial report to gain a clearer understanding of this.

For those eager to explore the world of feudal Japan in Assassin's Creed Shadows, 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.