Assassin’s Creed Shadows Becomes Series’ Second Biggest Launch
The newest Assassin’s Creed recreation is alleged to have generated the second-highest day-one gross sales income for the franchise. The data comes from two separate stories from VGC and IGN that cite Ubisoft sources and an inside e mail discussing the sport’s gross sales efficiency. Shadows’ launch-day gross sales efficiency is second solely to Valhalla within the sequence, which stays the highest-selling Assassin’s Creed recreation of all time.
It’s additionally price noting that Assassin’s Creed Valhalla arrived on the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic when nations the world over had carried out lockdown guidelines, leading to extra individuals staying at residence and enjoying video video games. The recreation’s gross sales additionally benefitted from a cross-gen launch on consoles.
Ubisoft, too, recognises as a lot; As per IGN’s report, the corporate considers Valhalla’s distinctive gross sales efficiency a results of beneficial circumstances, and as such, intends to check Shadows to the launches of AC Origins and Odyssey.
“Valhalla launched beneath extraordinary circumstances — in the course of a world pandemic, with widespread lockdowns and brand-new console {hardware},” the report stated, quoting Ubisoft’s inside communications. “It was an ideal storm we might by no means see once more. That’s why it is extra significant to check Shadows to entries like Origins, Odyssey, and Mirage — video games launched in additional typical cycles. And in that body, Shadows is already setting a brand new bar as illustrated above.”
🔥 2 MILLION PLAYERS! 🔥
We’re thrilled to rejoice this unimaginable milestone!
Assassin’s Creed Shadows has now surpassed the launches of AC Origins and Odyssey. Thank you for becoming a member of the journey in Feudal Japan! #AssassinsCreedShadows pic.twitter.com/a6YezXNtYI
— Assassin’s Creed (@assassinscreed) March 22, 2025
Steam Launch Benifits Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Further, the corporate’s gross sales information, as reported by each publications, additionally claims that Assassin’s Creed Shadows is Ubisoft’s finest day-one launch on the PlayStation Store. The recreation has discovered a large participant base on PC, as effectively, particularly because of its day-one launch on Steam. According to Ubisoft, 27 p.c of the sport’s complete “activations” got here on PC, with Steam enjoying a “vital position.”
Ubisoft, nonetheless, has not but shared gross sales figures for Shadows, despite the fact that it has cited sturdy participant engagement in its communications, each inside and public. The firm stated over the weekend that the sport had crossed over two million gamers. This quantity, nonetheless, contains Ubisoft+ members who have been in a position to entry the sport with out shopping for a replica.
According to SteamDB charts, the Japan-set action-RPG has seen an all-time peak concurrent participant depend of 64,825 on the time of writing, a quantity that might rise within the coming days. The gross sales efficiency of Assassin’s Creed Shadows ought to grow to be clearer in time, particularly when Ubisoft stories its quarterly monetary outcomes.
The French firm has been banking on the sport to ship successful after back-to-back disappointments with the launches of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Star Wars Outlaws. Ubisoft’s inventory worth has taken a beating over the previous 12 months, falling 40 p.c in 2024 and pushing the corporate’s founding Guillemot household to discover talks with Tencent and different traders over a buyout deal.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows launched on March 20 after a being delayed twice from its unique launch date of November 15, 2024. Ubisoft stated it utilised the extra improvement time to additional polish the sport and incorporate participant suggestions.
