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

Ubisoft's latest installment, Assassin's Creed Shadows, achieved a remarkable milestone by surpassing 1 million players on its launch day, March 20. Released across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S, the game quickly garnered attention, with Ubisoft proudly announcing the achievement before 4pm in Canada via social media. "It's not even 4pm here in Canada and Assassin's Creed Shadows has already passed 1 million players!" Ubisoft exclaimed, expressing gratitude and excitement for the community's engagement in the journey through Feudal Japan.

While the 1 million player mark is a significant achievement, it's worth noting that Ubisoft has not disclosed specific sales figures or targets, making it challenging to fully assess the game's commercial success. However, on Steam, Assassin's Creed Shadows is currently the top-selling video game globally, indicating strong revenue performance on the platform. Early Steam data also shows a peak concurrent player count of 41,412 on launch day, with expectations of growth over the game's first weekend. For comparison, BioWare's Dragon Age: The Veilguard, released on October 31, 2024, achieved a peak of 70,414 players on Steam.

The release of Assassin's Creed Shadows comes at a crucial time for Ubisoft, following delays and the underwhelming sales of last year's Star Wars Outlaws. The company has faced numerous challenges, including high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations. Additionally, the game has been embroiled in controversies, particularly in Japan, where Ubisoft released a day-one patch addressing concerns raised by Japanese politicians about in-game depictions of temples and shrines. This issue was even discussed in an official government meeting between Japanese politician Hiroyuki Kada and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

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 scored the game an 8/10, praising it as "one of the best versions of the open-world style it's been honing for the last decade." Amidst these developments, Ubisoft's founding Guillemot family and largest shareholder are reportedly in discussions with Tencent and other investors about a potential buyout deal that would allow them to retain control of the company.