Ubisoft announced that Assassin's Creed Shadows attracted over 1 million players on its launch day, March 20. The game, released on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S, reached 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 achieving 1 million players on launch day is impressive, gauging the game's success remains challenging due to Ubisoft's lack of disclosed sales figures or targets. However, Assassin's Creed Shadows currently tops the global sales chart on Steam, indicating it is generating the highest revenue among all games on the platform. Early Steam data shows a peak concurrent player count of 41,412 on launch day. Given that the game was released on a Thursday, these numbers are expected to rise over the weekend, providing a clearer picture of its performance in the coming weeks. It's worth noting that neither Sony nor Microsoft share player numbers publicly.

For comparison, BioWare's Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which launched on Steam on October 31, 2024, achieved a peak of 70,414 concurrent players.

The Complete Assassin's Creed Timeline

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The success of Assassin's Creed Shadows is crucial for Ubisoft, especially following delays and the commercial disappointment of Star Wars Outlaws last year. The company has faced several challenges, including high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations leading up to this release.

Assassin's Creed Shadows has not been without controversy, particularly in Japan. A day-one patch was released to address concerns from some Japanese politicians regarding the depiction of temples and shrines in the game. This issue was even raised in an official government meeting by Japanese politician Hiroyuki Kada, with a response from Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Early Skills Tier List

On Steam, Assassin's Creed Shadows has received a 'very positive' user review rating, with 82% of nearly 4,000 user reviews being positive. IGN's review of the game awarded it an 8/10, praising it for refining existing systems to create one of the best versions of the open-world style Ubisoft has developed over the last decade.

Amidst these developments, reports indicate that Ubisoft's founding Guillemot family and largest shareholder are exploring talks with Tencent and other investors about a potential buyout deal that would allow them to retain control of the company.