Assassin’s Creed Shadows Crosses 1 Million Players on Launch Day, Ubisoft Says

Assassin’s Creed Shadows has hit the ground running, amassing over 1 million players on its launch day, Ubisoft proudly announced. The game, which debuted on March 20 across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S, crossed this impressive threshold before 4pm in Canada. Ubisoft expressed their gratitude on social media, stating, "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 on launch day is a notable milestone, 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 charts, indicating strong financial performance on the platform.

On Steam, the game achieved a peak concurrent player count of 41,412 on its launch day. Released on a Thursday, it's anticipated that these numbers will increase over the weekend. We'll have a clearer view of its performance on Steam in the coming weeks. For comparison, BioWare’s single-player RPG Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which launched on Steam on October 31, 2024, saw a peak of 70,414 players.

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The success of Assassin's Creed Shadows is crucial for Ubisoft, especially after the delays and the commercial disappointment of last year's Star Wars Outlaws. The company has faced several challenges recently, including high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations.

Assassin's Creed Shadows has also been at the center of controversies, particularly in Japan. IGN confirmed that Ubisoft released a day-one patch addressing concerns from Japanese politicians about the portrayal of in-game temples and shrines. This issue was even discussed in an official government meeting by Japanese politician Hiroyuki Kada, with a response from Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

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On Steam, Assassin's Creed Shadows is receiving positive feedback, boasting a 'very positive' user review rating with 82% of nearly 4,000 reviews being positive. IGN’s review of the game scored it an 8/10, praising it for "sharpening the edges of its existing systems, [and] creating 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 its largest shareholder are reportedly in discussions with Tencent and other investors about a potential buyout deal that would allow them to maintain control of the company.