Ubisoft Urges Comparing Assassin's Creed Shadows' Launch to Origins, Odyssey, and Mirage, Not Valhalla's 'Perfect Storm'

The stakes are incredibly high for Assassin's Creed Shadows to perform well globally for Ubisoft, especially in the wake of multiple delays and the commercial disappointment of last year's Star Wars Outlaws. Ubisoft has faced a series of setbacks, including high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations leading up to the release of Assassin's Creed Shadows. The situation at Ubisoft has become so dire that the founding Guillemot family is reportedly exploring talks with Chinese mega-corp Tencent and other investors on a buyout deal to maintain control of the company's intellectual property.

The video game industry is keenly observing the early performance of Assassin's Creed Shadows to gauge its success or failure. While Ubisoft has yet to disclose specific sales figures, they announced that Assassin's Creed Shadows reached 2 million players just two days after its launch, surpassing the initial performance 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 previous Assassin's Creed titles. Over the weekend, Shadows achieved a record as the most-played Assassin's Creed game on Steam with a peak of 64,825 concurrent players. It's noteworthy that this was the first time a game in the series launched on Steam on day one. In comparison, BioWare's single-player RPG Dragon Age: The Veilguard reached a peak of 89,418 players on the platform.

Determining whether Shadows meets, exceeds, or falls short of Ubisoft's expectations is challenging without knowing those expectations. However, a source from within Ubisoft, who shared an internal email with IGN, has provided insight into the game's performance over its first weekend.

According to this insider information, Shadows achieved the second-highest day-one sales revenue in the franchise's history, only behind Valhalla in 2020, which benefited from the launch across multiple console generations and the surge in stay-at-home gaming during the pandemic. Additionally, Shadows marked Ubisoft's best-ever day-one launch on the PlayStation Store, indicating strong performance on the PS5.

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On the PC front, given that Shadows was also released on Steam and Ubisoft's own digital store, internal communications reveal that 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 specific sales figures remain undisclosed. The company views the early results as a "strong validation" of their decision to return to the Steam platform.

Ubisoft emphasizes high player engagement, which is reportedly at "record levels," and notes that feedback from moderated, verified platforms—those less susceptible to review bombing—has been overwhelmingly positive. Shadows was the most-wishlisted Ubisoft game ever and is outperforming all other Assassin's Creed games on Twitch, even surpassing Valhalla.

Ubisoft's internal communications contextualize comparisons between Shadows' launch and other franchise entries. While Shadows does not match Valhalla's launch performance, Ubisoft argues that such comparisons are unfair due to Valhalla's unique circumstances, including the global pandemic and new console hardware releases in 2020. "Valhalla launched under extraordinary conditions—in the middle of a global pandemic, with widespread lockdowns and brand-new console hardware," the internal communication states. "It was a perfect storm we may never see again. That's why it's more meaningful to compare Shadows to entries like Origins, Odyssey, and Mirage—games released in more typical cycles. And in that frame, Shadows is already setting a new bar as illustrated above."

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Ubisoft also highlighted that Shadows was released in March, deviating from the traditional launch window just before U.S. Thanksgiving, which typically boosts sales. Moreover, Ubisoft opted not to offer an early access period, which they usually charge extra for. It's also important to consider that Ubisoft's subscription service is now available directly on Xbox, impacting sales on Microsoft's console and complicating direct sales comparisons.

Ultimately, the financial success of Assassin's Creed Shadows will be crucial not only for the game itself but also for Ubisoft's future. A clearer picture of the game's financial impact will likely emerge with Ubisoft's next financial report in the coming months.

Interested in exploring feudal Japan with 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.