Assassin’s Creed Shadows Isn’t Matching Valhalla’s Success, and That’s Alright

Just a week after launch, Assassin’s Creed Shadows appears to be the success story that Ubisoft is in need of right now. Just hours after it arrived, Ubisoft confirmed that 1 million people were playing the game, and after the crucial first weekend, that figure jumped to 2 million players. One of the big metrics that the game has been judged by is its concurrent players on Steam, and while it hasn’t yet surpassed the numbers set by 2020’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, that might be an unfair comparison to make.

Speaking to IGN, a Ubisoft source revealed that Shadows was responsible for the second-highest day-one sales revenue in the Assassin’s Creed franchise, while Valhalla held onto its top spot. According to the internal email shown to IGN, 27% of Shadows’ total “activations” were on PC–covering various distribution channels on that platform–with Steam playing a major role as this was the first Assassin’s Creed game in several years to launch day-one through that storefront.

On console, Shadows was Ubisoft’s best ever day-one launch on the PlayStation Store. Ubisoft also noted that player engagement is at “record levels” and feedback across “moderated, verified platforms” remains very positive.

Overall, Shadows is off to a good start, and while it doesn’t match or exceed several records set by Valhalla, Ubisoft did note that the 2020 Assassin’s Creed game benefitted from a “perfect storm” of conditions. This was during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic when people were forced to stay and work from home, and with the launch of the Xbox Series X|S and PS5 consoles, more people turned to video games for entertainment.

Other crucial factors here include Shadows launching in March–several previous entries were released during the lucrative Q4 period–the lack of an early access period as a selling point, and the premium tier of Ubisoft’s monthly subscription service offering Shadows as part of its gaming library. Ubisoft+ is also available directly on Xbox consoles, which makes it more challenging to properly compare the sales of Shadows to other recent games in the franchise.

“Valhalla launched under extraordinary conditions–in the middle of a global pandemic, with widespread lockdowns and brand-new console hardware,” the internal memo read. “It was a perfect storm we may never see again. That’s why it’s more meaningful to compare Shadows to entries like Origins, Odyssey, and Mirage–games released in more typical cycles. And in that frame, Shadows is already setting a new bar as illustrated above.”

The reported success of Shadows arrives at a crucial time for Ubisoft, as last year’s Star Wars Outlaws underperformed and saw company stock sink to its worst figure in a decade. Recently, there have also been reports that Ubisoft and its individual franchises might be up for sale, with Tencent, Microsoft, and EA possibly preparing to make a deal.