"Assassin’s Creed Shadows Hits 1 Million Players on Launch Day: Ubisoft"

Assassin’s Creed Shadows achieved a significant milestone by surpassing 1 million players on its launch day, Ubisoft proudly announced. The game, which was released on March 20 across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S platforms, reached this impressive figure 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 reaching 1 million players on launch day is a notable accomplishment, it's challenging to fully assess the game's success without specific sales figures or targets from Ubisoft. However, it's clear that Assassin’s Creed Shadows is currently the top-selling video game on Steam globally, based on Valve’s revenue charts. Early data from Steam also shows that the game hit a peak concurrent player count of 41,412 on its launch day. Given that the game was released on a Thursday, it's anticipated that these numbers 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 publicly.

For context, BioWare’s single-player RPG, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, launched on Steam on October 31, 2024, and achieved a peak of 70,414 concurrent players on the platform.

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There is considerable pressure on Assassin's Creed Shadows to perform well globally for Ubisoft, especially following delays and the commercial underperformance of last year’s Star Wars Outlaws. Ubisoft has faced several setbacks recently, including high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations leading up to the release of Assassin's Creed Shadows.

The game has also been embroiled in controversies, particularly in Japan. Just before its launch, IGN reported that Ubisoft released a day-one patch for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, addressing concerns from some Japanese politicians about the depiction of in-game temples and shrines. This issue was even raised in a governmental meeting by Japanese politician Hiroyuki Kada, with a response from Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

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On Steam, Assassin's Creed Shadows has received a 'very positive' user review rating, with 82% of nearly 4,000 reviews being positive. IGN’s review of Assassin’s Creed Shadows awarded it an 8/10, praising it as "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."

Amidst these developments, reports indicate that Ubisoft’s founding Guillemot family and largest shareholder have been in discussions with Tencent and other investors about a potential buyout deal that would allow them to retain control of the company.