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

Ubisoft announced that Assassin’s Creed Shadows surpassed 1 million players on its launch day, March 20. The game, released on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S, reached this impressive 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 reaching 1 million players on launch day is a significant achievement, gauging the game's success remains challenging without specific sales figures or targets from Ubisoft. However, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is currently the top-selling video game globally on Steam, based on Valve’s revenue charts, indicating strong financial performance on the platform.

On launch day, Assassin’s Creed Shadows achieved a peak concurrent player count of 41,412 on Steam. Released on a Thursday, the game is expected to see an increase in player numbers over the first weekend. We will have a clearer understanding of its performance on Steam in the coming weeks. It's worth noting that neither Sony nor Microsoft disclose player numbers publicly.

For comparison, BioWare’s single-player RPG Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which launched on Steam on October 31, 2024, reached a peak of 70,414 players on the same platform.

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There is significant pressure on Assassin’s Creed Shadows to succeed globally for Ubisoft, especially following delays and the commercial disappointment of last year’s Star Wars Outlaws. Ubisoft has faced several challenges 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 encountered controversies, particularly in Japan. IGN confirmed that Ubisoft released a day-one patch for Assassin’s Creed Shadows to address concerns from some Japanese politicians about in-game temples and shrines. This issue was raised in an official government meeting by Japanese politician Hiroyuki Kada, with a response from Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

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On Steam, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is receiving positive feedback from players, achieving 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 for "sharpening the edges of its existing systems, creating one of the best versions of the open-world style it’s been honing for the last decade."

Amid these developments, reports suggest that Ubisoft’s founding Guillemot family and largest shareholder are exploring talks with Chinese mega-corp Tencent and other investors regarding a potential buyout deal that would allow them to retain control.