Assassin’s Creed Shadows has achieved a remarkable milestone, surpassing 1 million players on its launch day, as announced by Ubisoft. The game, which became available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S on March 20, quickly reached this impressive figure. Just before 4pm in Canada, Ubisoft shared the news on social media, expressing their gratitude and excitement: "It's not even 4pm here in Canada and Assassin's Creed Shadows has already passed 1 million players! Thank YOU from the bottom of our hearts for joining this adventure in Feudal Japan. We are beyond excited to start this journey with you!”
While reaching 1 million players in a single day is a significant accomplishment, it's challenging to fully assess the game's success without specific sales figures or targets from Ubisoft. However, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is currently the top-selling video game globally on Steam, based on Valve's revenue-based chart, indicating strong financial performance on the platform.
On launch day, Assassin’s Creed Shadows achieved a peak concurrent player count of 41,412 on Steam. Given that the game was released on a Thursday, it's anticipated that these numbers will increase over the weekend. A clearer picture of its performance on Steam will emerge in the coming weeks. It's worth noting that neither Sony nor Microsoft disclose player numbers for their platforms.
For comparison, BioWare’s single-player RPG, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which launched on Steam on October 31, 2024, reached a peak of 70,414 players on the same platform.
The Complete Assassin's Creed Timeline
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Assassin's Creed Shadows faces significant pressure to succeed globally, especially following delays and the commercial disappointment of last year’s Star Wars Outlaws. Ubisoft has encountered several challenges recently, including high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations leading up to the release of Assassin's Creed Shadows.
The game has also been embroiled in controversies, particularly in Japan. Ubisoft released a day-one patch for Assassin’s Creed Shadows addressing concerns raised by some Japanese politicians about in-game representations of temples and shrines. This issue was even discussed in an official government meeting where Japanese politician Hiroyuki Kada raised concerns, and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba responded.
Assassin's Creed Shadows - Early Skills Tier List
Assassin's Creed Shadows - Early Skills Tier List
On Steam, Assassin's Creed Shadows is receiving positive feedback from players, boasting a 'very positive' user review rating with 82% of nearly 4,000 reviews being positive. IGN’s review of Assassin’s Creed Shadows gave it an 8/10, stating: “By sharpening the edges of its existing systems, Assassin’s Creed Shadows creates one of the best versions of the open-world style it’s been honing for the last decade.”
Amidst these developments, Ubisoft’s founding Guillemot family and largest shareholder are reportedly in discussions with Chinese conglomerate Tencent and other investors regarding a buyout deal that would allow them to maintain control of the company.
