Ubisoft Insider Leak: Assassin’s Creed Shadows Not to be Compared With Valhalla’s Launch Success!

Assassin’s Creed Shadows carries significant expectations to perform strongly on a global scale for Ubisoft, following several postponements and the commercial disappointment of last year’s Star Wars Outlaws. Leading up to this release, Ubisoft has faced a series of setbacks including high-profile failures, layoffs, studio shutdowns, and game cancellations.

The situation at Ubisoft has deteriorated to the point where the Guillemot family, who founded the company, is allegedly in discussions with Tencent and other potential investors about a buyout deal that could allow them to retain control over their intellectual property.

The gaming community is keenly observing the initial performance of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, looking for early indications of its success or lack thereof. Although Ubisoft has not released specific sales numbers, they have reported that Assassin’s Creed Shadows reached 2 million players within just two days of its launch, outperforming earlier installments such as Origins and Odyssey.

Considerable attention is also being directed towards the concurrent player counts on Steam for Shadows, which are being compared to those of other recent major single-player releases, as well as previous Assassin’s Creed titles on the platform.

Over a recent weekend, Shadows became the most played Assassin’s Creed game on Steam, attracting a peak of 64,825 concurrent players. This is notable since it’s the first game in the series to have a day-one release on Steam since Odyssey in 2018. In comparison, BioWare’s single-player RPG Dragon Age: The Veilguard reached a peak of 89,418 players on the same platform.

We’ve learned that Shadows achieved the second-highest day-one sales revenue in the franchise’s history, trailing only behind 2020’s Valhalla, which benefited from cross-generation console availability and pandemic-induced increases in home gaming.

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

Regarding PC sales, Shadows was launched on both Steam and Ubisoft’s own digital store. Ubisoft’s internal communications reveal that 27% of Shadows’ total “activations” were on PC, with Steam playing a significant role in these figures, although specific sell-through numbers were not disclosed. Early results validate Ubisoft’s decision to return to Steam, according to company communications.

Ubisoft is emphasizing record levels of player engagement and notes that feedback from moderated, verified platforms—which are less prone to review bombing—remains overwhelmingly positive. Also, Shadows has become the most wishlisted Ubisoft game ever and is performing better on Twitch than any previous Assassin’s Creed game, including Valhalla.

In internal discussions, Ubisoft provides insights into how Shadows’ launch compares with other games in the series. While Shadows may not be performing as well as Valhalla did at launch, comparisons are deemed unfair due to the extraordinary circumstances surrounding Valhalla’s release, such as the pandemic and the launch of new consoles. Instead, Ubisoft suggests comparing Shadows to other games like Origins, Odyssey, and Mirage, which were released in more typical conditions.

Ubisoft also highlighted that unlike previous Assassin’s Creed games, which typically launch close to the U.S. Thanksgiving period—a time that generally boosts sales—Shadows was released in March. Additionally, Ubisoft has removed the early access period they usually charge extra for. This change, along with the availability of Ubisoft’s subscription service directly on Xbox, complicates direct sales comparisons on Microsoft’s console.

Ultimately, the financial success of Assassin’s Creed Shadows will be a crucial determinant of Ubisoft’s future, though a full understanding of its impact may not be clear until Ubisoft’s upcoming financial report.

For those embarking on an adventure across feudal Japan, explore our extensive Assassin’s Creed Shadows guide, including a detailed walkthrough, an interactive map, and tips on important aspects of the game that aren’t immediately apparent.