"Assassin's Creed Shadows Surpasses 2 Million Players in Two Days, Outperforming Origins and Odyssey Launches"

Ubisoft has celebrated a significant milestone for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, noting that the game has attracted 2 million players since its launch on March 20. This impressive figure is a notable increase from the 1 million players on its debut day. Ubisoft highlighted that this surpasses the launch performance of both Assassin’s Creed Origins and Odyssey, emphasizing the game's strong start. They expressed gratitude to fans, stating, "Thank you for joining the journey in Feudal Japan!"

Despite this success, Ubisoft has not yet disclosed specific sales figures for Assassin’s Creed Shadows. However, the game has achieved top-selling status on Steam, where Ubisoft recently made a return following years of exclusivity on the Epic Games Store. At the time of writing, Assassin’s Creed Shadows had reached a concurrent player peak of 58,894 on Steam, placing it among the top 30 most-played games on Valve's platform. This peak is anticipated to grow over the opening weekend.

For context, Assassin’s Creed Origins had a peak of 41,551 players on Steam, while Odyssey reached 62,069. Given these numbers, it's likely that Shadows will soon become the most-played game on Steam this weekend.

Comparatively, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, a single-player RPG from BioWare, launched on Steam on October 31, 2024, and saw a peak of 89,418 players. It's important to note that Assassin’s Creed Shadows also launched on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, where player numbers are not publicly disclosed by Sony or Microsoft, suggesting the true concurrent peak is even higher.

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The success of Assassin’s Creed Shadows is crucial for Ubisoft, especially following multiple delays and the disappointing sales of Star Wars Outlaws last year. Ubisoft has faced numerous challenges, including high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations leading up to Shadows' release. The situation became so dire that the Guillemot family, Ubisoft's founders and largest shareholders, are reportedly in discussions with Tencent and other investors about a potential buyout to maintain control.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows itself has not been without controversy, particularly in Japan. This week, IGN reported that Ubisoft released a day-one patch addressing concerns from Japanese politicians about the depiction of temples and shrines in the game. In a notable exchange, Japanese politician Hiroyuki Kada raised the issue in a government meeting, prompting a response from Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

On Steam, Assassin’s Creed Shadows has received a 'very positive' user review rating, with 81% of over 6,000 reviews being positive. IGN's review awarded the game an 8/10, praising it for refining the open-world formula Ubisoft has developed over the past decade: "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."

For those eager to explore feudal Japan, check out our comprehensive Assassin's Creed Shadows guide, including our Assassin's Creed Shadows walkthrough, our detailed Assassin's Creed Shadows Interactive Map, and our guide to all the crucial things Assassin’s Creed Shadows doesn’t tell you.