"Assassin's Creed Shadows Surpasses 2 Million Players in 2 Days, Outperforming Origins and Odyssey"

Ubisoft has celebrated another impressive milestone for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, announcing that the game has attracted 2 million players since its launch on March 20. This number has doubled from the 1 million players it saw on its debut day. Ubisoft proudly noted that this surpasses the launch figures of both Assassin’s Creed Origins and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, expressing gratitude to fans for embarking on the journey through Feudal Japan.

While Ubisoft has not yet disclosed specific sales figures for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the game has quickly become the top-selling title on Steam. This marks a notable return for Ubisoft to the platform after years of exclusivity on the Epic Games Store for its PC launches. At the time of this article’s publication, Assassin’s Creed Shadows boasted 58,894 concurrent players on Steam, ranking it among the top 30 most-played games on Valve’s platform. This peak is anticipated to increase further as the game progresses through its opening weekend.

For context, Assassin’s Creed Origins achieved an all-time peak of 41,551 players on Steam, while Odyssey reached 62,069. Given these numbers, it seems likely that Shadows will soon become the most-played game on Steam over the weekend. Meanwhile, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, a single-player RPG from BioWare, launched on Steam on October 31, 2024, and saw a peak of 89,418 players.

It's important to note that the true concurrent player peak for Assassin’s Creed Shadows will be significantly higher, considering its simultaneous launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S. Unfortunately, neither Sony nor Microsoft release public player statistics.

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The stakes are high for Assassin’s Creed Shadows following multiple delays and the commercial disappointment of last year's Star Wars Outlaws. Ubisoft has faced a series of challenges, including high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations leading up to the release of Shadows. The situation became so dire that the Guillemot family, Ubisoft’s founders and largest shareholders, are reportedly in discussions with Tencent and other investors about a potential buyout that would allow them to retain control.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows has not been without its own controversies, particularly in Japan. Recently, IGN reported that Ubisoft released a day-one patch for the game, addressing concerns raised by some Japanese politicians about the depiction of in-game temples and shrines. This issue was even brought up in an official government meeting by Hiroyuki Kada, a member of the House of Councillors of Japan, to which Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba responded.

On Steam, Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been well-received, earning a 'very positive' user review rating, with 81% of over 6,000 reviews being positive. IGN’s review awarded the game an 8/10, praising it for refining existing systems and delivering one of the best open-world experiences in the franchise over the last decade.

For those looking to explore Feudal Japan in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, our comprehensive guide includes a detailed walkthrough, an interactive map, and insights into crucial aspects the game doesn’t explicitly cover.