Ubisoft: Compare Assassin's Creed Shadows to Origins, Not Valhalla

Ubisoft faces significant global pressure for Assassin's Creed Shadows to succeed, following multiple delays and last year's disappointing sales of Star Wars Outlaws. The company has endured a series of high-profile failures, staff reductions, studio shutdowns, and project cancellations leading up to the release of Assassin's Creed Shadows.

The situation has become so dire at Ubisoft that the founding Guillemot family is reportedly in discussions with Chinese tech giant Tencent and other potential investors regarding a buyout arrangement that would allow them to retain control over the company's intellectual property.

Consequently, the gaming industry is closely monitoring Assassin's Creed Shadows' early performance for indicators of its success or failure. While Ubisoft hasn't released specific sales figures yet, the company confirmed that Assassin's Creed Shadows attracted 2 million players within just two days of launch, surpassing the initial performance of both Origins and Odyssey.

Significant attention is also focused on Shadows' concurrent player numbers on Steam, which are being compared to other recently released triple-A single-player titles and previous Assassin's Creed games available on Valve's platform.

Shadows became the most-played Assassin's Creed title in Steam's history over the weekend, reaching a peak of 64,825 concurrent players. It's important to note, however, that this marked the series' first day-one launch on the platform. By comparison, BioWare's single-player RPG Dragon Age: The Veilguard achieved a peak of 89,418 players on Steam.

Without knowing Ubisoft's specific expectations, it's difficult to determine whether Shadows is underperforming, meeting, or exceeding projections. However, an internal source who shared a company email with IGN has provided valuable insight into the game's opening weekend performance.

Here are the key findings: Shadows generated the second-highest day-one sales revenue in the franchise's history, trailing only 2020's Valhalla, which launched across both previous and current-generation consoles and benefited from pandemic-driven stay-at-home gaming trends.

Shadows also marked Ubisoft's most successful day-one launch on the PlayStation Store, indicating particularly strong performance on PS5.

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But how did the PC version fare, given Shadows launched simultaneously on Steam and Ubisoft's own digital store? According to internal communications, PC accounted for 27% of Shadows' total activations. Ubisoft informed employees that Steam "played a major role" in the PC performance, though specific sell-through numbers weren't disclosed. The company stated these early results "strongly validate our decision to return to the platform."

Ubisoft is emphasizing strong player engagement, which has reached "record levels," and noting that "feedback across moderated, verified platforms—those less susceptible to review bombing—remains exceptionally positive." Shadows was also the most-wishlisted Ubisoft game in history and is generating more viewership on Twitch than any previous Assassin's Creed title, including Valhalla.

The internal communication provides essential context for comparing Shadows' launch with other franchise entries. Clearly, Shadows isn't matching Valhalla's launch performance, but Ubisoft argues this comparison is unfair since Valhalla benefited from the "perfect storm" of pandemic-driven gaming habits and the simultaneous launch of Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 in 2020.

"Valhalla launched under extraordinary circumstances—amid a global pandemic with widespread lockdowns and new console hardware," the internal communication states. "It was a unique convergence of factors we may never witness again. This makes it more meaningful to compare Shadows to titles like Origins, Odyssey, and Mirage—games released during more typical cycles. Within that framework, Shadows is already establishing new benchmarks as demonstrated above."

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Ubisoft also highlighted Shadows' March release window. Historically, Assassin's Creed games launched just before the U.S. Thanksgiving period, which typically drives higher sales. Additionally, the company eliminated the early access period it traditionally charged extra for in its games. It's also worth noting that Ubisoft's subscription service is now directly available on Xbox, which impacts sales on Microsoft's console and complicates direct sales comparisons.

Ultimately, financial performance will determine the outcome. Regardless of player counts and engagement metrics, the revenue generated by Assassin's Creed Shadows will ultimately shape not just the game's future, but Ubisoft's as well. A clearer picture will likely emerge when Ubisoft releases its next financial report in the coming months.

Exploring feudal Japan? Consult our comprehensive Assassin's Creed Shadows guide, including our detailed walkthrough, interactive map, and essential tips the game doesn't explicitly tell you.