Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the series’ second biggest launch ever, according to sales data supplied to VGC.
Shadows launched on consoles and PC last week, and surpassed two million players in two days, according to an Ubisoft announcement published over the weekend, which it noted was higher than both Origins and Odyssey.
According to further data seen by VGC, Shadows delivered the second-highest Day 1 sales revenue in the franchise’s history, behind only Valhalla.
Notably, it did so launching in March, when other series entries arrived during the more lucrative Thanksgiving season, and did not benefit from the pandemic boost enjoyed by Valhalla.
Shadows marked Ubisoft’s best-ever Day 1 launch on the PlayStation digital store, was the most wish-listed Ubisoft title of all time, and generated over 11 million hours watched on Twitch — the strongest start for any recent Ubisoft title, including Valhalla.
Significantly, PC activations represented around 27% of total activations, with Steam playing “a significant role” in that performance.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the first major Ubisoft game to release day one on Steam since 2019. Previously, the publisher prioritized its own digital store, as well as the Epic Games Store, at launch.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows has faced numerous setbacks and issues over the course of its development, including content leaks. Originally planned for release last November, Assassin’s Creed Shadows was delayed until February 14, then delayed again to March 20.
Shadows also arrives during a pivotal moment for publisher Ubisoft. Following several underperforming releases and a worsening financial outlook, Ubisoft said in January it was taking “decisive steps” to reshape the company and “actively exploring various strategic and capitalistic options to unlock the full value potential” of its assets.
It’s claimed that Tencent and Ubisoft’s founding Guillemot family are considering the creation of a new venture containing some Ubisoft assets.
In VGC’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows review we wrote: “With excellent gameplay, a compelling narrative and a massive, beautiful world to explore, it is so much better than many expected it to be.
“Even if it’s not the game that saves Ubisoft, it did exactly what it needed to, bringing confidence back to one of modern gaming’s biggest and most troubled franchises.”
