Ubisoft's latest release, *Assassin's Creed Shadows*, has made a significant impact on its launch day, March 20, amassing over 1 million players across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. The milestone was announced by Ubisoft on social media just before 4pm in Canada, with the company expressing heartfelt gratitude to the community for joining the adventure set in Feudal Japan.
While reaching 1 million players on launch day is a remarkable feat, it's challenging to fully assess the game's success without specific sales figures or targets from Ubisoft. However, *Assassin's Creed Shadows* currently holds the title of the top-selling video game on Steam globally, indicating strong revenue performance on Valve's platform.
On its 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 this number 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 context, BioWare's single-player RPG *Dragon Age: The Veilguard*, which launched on Steam on October 31, 2024, saw a peak of 70,414 players on the same platform.
The Complete Assassin's Creed Timeline
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The release of *Assassin's Creed Shadows* comes at a critical time for Ubisoft, following several delays and the disappointing sales of last year's *Star Wars Outlaws*. The company has faced numerous challenges, including high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations leading up to this release.
Additionally, *Assassin's Creed Shadows* has not been without controversy, particularly in Japan. IGN reported that Ubisoft issued a day-one patch addressing concerns raised by Japanese politicians regarding the depiction of in-game temples and shrines. In a notable exchange, Japanese politician Hiroyuki Kada brought up *Assassin's Creed Shadows* in a government meeting, to which 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* has been well-received, 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 refining the open-world formula Ubisoft has been developing over the past decade.
Amidst these developments, reports suggest that Ubisoft's founding Guillemot family and largest shareholder are engaging in discussions with Tencent and other investors about a potential buyout that would allow them to retain control of the company.
