The success of Assassin's Creed Shadows is crucial for Ubisoft following a series of setbacks including the underperformance of Star Wars Outlaws last year. Ubisoft has faced numerous challenges, such as high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations leading up to the release of Assassin's Creed Shadows. The pressure on this game to perform well globally is immense.
Amidst these struggles, the Guillemot family, founders of Ubisoft, are reportedly exploring talks with Chinese mega-corp Tencent and other investors about a buyout deal. Their aim is to retain control over the company's intellectual property, highlighting the dire situation at Ubisoft.
The video game industry is closely monitoring Assassin's Creed Shadows' early performance for indicators of its success or failure. While Ubisoft has not yet released specific sales figures, they announced that Assassin's Creed Shadows reached 2 million players just two days after its launch, surpassing the initial player counts of both Origins and Odyssey.
The game's performance on Steam is also under scrutiny, with concurrent player numbers being compared to other recently released triple-A single-player games and previous Assassin's Creed titles. Over the weekend, Shadows achieved a peak of 64,825 concurrent players on Steam, making it the most-played Assassin's Creed game ever on the platform. This is notable as it was the first in the series to launch day-one on Steam. In comparison, Dragon Age: The Veilguard by BioWare peaked at 89,418 players.
Determining whether Shadows meets, exceeds, or falls below Ubisoft's expectations is challenging without knowing those expectations. However, an internal email, reviewed by IGN, provides insights into the game's first weekend performance. Shadows generated the second-highest day-one sales revenue in the franchise's history, only surpassed by Valhalla in 2020, which benefited from the global stay-at-home orders during the pandemic and launched across multiple console generations.
Shadows also achieved 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, 27% of Shadows' total activations were on PC, with Ubisoft highlighting Steam's significant role in the game's performance. While exact sell-through numbers were not disclosed, Ubisoft's internal communications celebrate the decision to return to Steam as validated by early results.
Ubisoft is emphasizing high player engagement, with "record levels" of interaction and overwhelmingly positive feedback on moderated, verified platforms. Shadows was the most-wishlisted Ubisoft game ever and outperforms any other Assassin's Creed title on Twitch, even surpassing Valhalla.
Internal communications contextualize comparisons between Shadows and other franchise entries. While Shadows did not perform as well as Valhalla at launch, Ubisoft argues that comparing the two is unfair due to Valhalla's unique launch conditions during the global pandemic and the introduction of new console hardware. Instead, Ubisoft suggests comparing Shadows to games like Origins, Odyssey, and Mirage, which were released under more typical circumstances. In this context, Shadows sets a new benchmark.
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Ubisoft also noted that Shadows was released in March, deviating from the typical pre-Thanksgiving launch window which usually boosts sales. Additionally, Ubisoft did not offer an early access period for Shadows, and their subscription service is now available directly on Xbox, complicating sales comparisons on Microsoft's console.
Ultimately, the financial performance of Assassin's Creed Shadows will be the decisive factor in determining not only the game's fate but also Ubisoft's future. A clearer picture of the game's revenue will likely emerge with Ubisoft's next financial report in the coming months.
For those eager to explore the world of Assassin's Creed Shadows set in feudal Japan, check out our comprehensive guide, including an Assassin's Creed Shadows walkthrough, an interactive map, and insights into key details the game doesn't explicitly reveal.
