Ubisoft's Assassin’s Creed Shadows Hits 3M Players

Assassin's Creed Shadows has surpassed 3 million players within its first week of release, Ubisoft announced today.

The milestone comes just seven days after Shadows launched on May 20, showing steady growth from the 2 million players reported on day two. These numbers already outperform the launch performances of both Origins and Odyssey.

Ubisoft's additional statistics reaffirm details previously reported by IGN from internal company communications. The publisher suggests Shadows' performance should be measured against Origins and Odyssey rather than Valhalla, which launched during optimal market conditions in 2020.

The samurai adventure achieved second-highest day-one sales revenue in franchise history (trailing only Valhalla), set Ubisoft's PlayStation Store day-one sales record, and has already accumulated over 40 million gameplay hours.

Following multiple delays and last year's disappointing Star Wars Outlaws performance, Assassin's Creed Shadows faces intense scrutiny as Ubisoft's potential turnaround title. Recent years brought the publisher numerous challenges - high-profile flops, workforce reductions, studio closures, and canceled projects.

Financial pressures grew so severe that Ubisoft's founding Guillemot family reportedly explored investment talks with Tencent and other firms to maintain control of their valuable IP. The gaming industry now closely monitors Shadows' commercial performance as an indicator of Ubisoft's future stability.

Steam player counts have drawn particular attention, with Shadows becoming the most-played Assassin's Creed title on the platform during its debut weekend (64,825 peak concurrent players). However, as the first franchise entry with a simultaneous Steam release since Odyssey in 2018, direct historical comparisons remain limited. By contrast, BioWare's Dragon Age: The Veilguard achieved 89,418 peak concurrent Steam players.

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Without official sales targets or revenue disclosures, assessing whether Shadows meets Ubisoft's expectations proves difficult. Financial results in upcoming quarterly reports will ultimately determine the game's - and potentially Ubisoft's - fate, regardless of player engagement metrics.

For players exploring feudal Japan, our Assassin's Creed Shadows resources include a comprehensive walkthrough, detailed Interactive Map, and guide to undocumented mechanics the game doesn't explain.