A lot of players have been silently moving in the shadows and crossing blades with Japanese guards since the release of Assassin's Creed Shadows, and the game ed a milestone as the second-biggest sales launch in the franchise's history. While there are no exact sales numbers available yet, we now have a pretty good idea that Assassin's Creed Shadows is doing well financially, with only Assassin's Creed Valhalla having a bigger launch, and the reason why is mighty specific.
As reported by Shadows had the largest number of players for an Assassin's Creed launch, with a count of 2 million, but many of those were Ubisoft+ subscribers, so the exact sales figures may not match the record-breaking player count.
Ubisoft Says To Not Compare Shadows With Valhalla's "Perfect Storm" Launch
The Success Of The Game Is More Complicated Than Any Other Assassin's Creed Launch
The exact numbers may still be a mystery, but even when those figures are made public, Ubisoft is asserting that Assassin's Creed Shadows sales numbers should not be compared to those of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. That game launched across both last-generation and current-generation hardware and also benefited greatly from the stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Ubisoft internal communication calling the launch conditions "a perfect storm we may never see again."
Ubisoft instead insists on comparing Shadows to prior installments Origins, Odyssey, and Mirage, which were launched in "more typical cycles." With that framing, "Shadows is already setting a new bar," the publisher claims. It's also worth noting the timing of the game's release — Assassin's Creed Shadows launched in March, while almost every other game in the series has been released in October or November.
By Most Metrics, Assassin's Creed Shadows Is Still Looking Like A Big Success
The Game Appears To Be Big For Ubisoft
While all the exact data is still to be released, there are more metrics that point towards Assassin's Creed Shadows being a big hit. Assassin's Creed Shadows was Ubisoft's best day-one launch on the PlayStation Store, according to IGN. Shadows was also the most wish-listed Ubisoft game on Steam and the most watched Assassin's Creed game on Twitch, beating even Valhalla.
Assassin's Creed Shadows Byes AC Origins' Peak Player Count On Steam, Closing In On Odyssey
Assassin's Creed Shadows has officially launched as of March 20, and its early player numbers have already bested those of Assassin's Creed Origins.
With the game reaching over 2 million players and having the second-highest day-one sales in the history of the franchise, Assassin's Creed Shadows is still looking like a huge success. Whether or not the game is truly financially successful will depend on internal Ubisoft metrics, but everything is pointing toward the game potentially being one of the most successful games of 2025 thus far and setting the bar for future installments in the series.
Source: IGN
Assassin's Creed Shadows
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- Top Critic Avg: 81/100 Critics Rec: 82%
- Released
- March 20, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language
- Developer(s)
- Ubisoft Quebec
- Publisher(s)
- Ubisoft
- Engine
- AnvilNext
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