Assassin’s Creed Shadows has made a remarkable debut, surpassing 1 million players on its launch day, Ubisoft proudly announced. The game, which hit the shelves on March 20 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S, achieved this milestone 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 undoubtedly a significant achievement, it remains challenging to fully assess its success without specific sales figures or targets from Ubisoft. However, it's clear that Assassin’s Creed Shadows is currently the top-selling video game on Steam globally, as Valve's revenue-based chart indicates the game is outperforming others on the platform.Early data from Steam also shows that Assassin’s Creed Shadows reached a peak of 41,412 concurrent players on launch day. Given that the game was released on a Thursday, it's anticipated that player numbers will increase over the weekend, providing a clearer picture of its performance in the coming weeks. It's worth noting that neither Sony nor Microsoft publicly share player statistics.
For comparison, BioWare’s single-player RPG Dragon Age: The Veilguard, launched on Steam on October 31, 2024, achieved a peak of 70,414 concurrent players.
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Assassin's Creed Shadows faces high expectations following several delays and the underwhelming sales of last year's Star Wars Outlaws. Ubisoft has encountered a series of 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 not been without controversy, particularly in Japan. IGN reported that Ubisoft released a day-one patch addressing concerns raised by some Japanese politicians about the depiction of temples and shrines in the game. In a notable political exchange, Japanese politician Hiroyuki Kada brought up Assassin’s Creed Shadows in a government meeting, prompting a response from Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
### Assassin's Creed Shadows - Early Skills Tier ListAssassin's Creed Shadows - Early Skills Tier List
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 Assassin’s Creed Shadows awarded it an 8/10, praising the game for refining its open-world mechanics: "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 Tencent and other investors about a potential buyout that would allow them to maintain control of the company.
