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

Ubisoft has celebrated yet another milestone for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, announcing that the game has reached 2 million players since its launch on March 20. This impressive figure more than doubles the game's initial day-one player count of 1 million, surpassing the launch achievements of both Assassin’s Creed Origins and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Ubisoft expressed their gratitude with a heartfelt message, "Thank you for joining the journey in Feudal Japan!"

While Ubisoft has not disclosed specific sales figures for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the game has quickly risen to become the top-selling title on Steam. This marks a significant return for Ubisoft to the platform after years of exclusivity on the Epic Games Store for PC launches. At the time of this article's publication, Assassin’s Creed Shadows boasted 58,894 concurrent players on Steam, securing a spot in the top 30 most-played games on Valve's platform. Analysts predict that the peak player count will continue to rise as the game's opening weekend progresses.

For context, Assassin’s Creed Origins achieved a peak of 41,551 players on Steam, while Odyssey reached 62,069. Given these numbers, it seems likely that Shadows will soon claim the title of the most-played Assassin’s Creed game on Steam.

It's important to note that these figures only account for Steam players. The true concurrent peak across all platforms, including PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, would be significantly higher, although Sony and Microsoft do not release such data publicly.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows faces high expectations following multiple delays and the disappointing sales of last year's Star Wars Outlaws. Ubisoft has been under pressure after experiencing a series of high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations leading up to this release. The situation became so dire that Ubisoft's founding Guillemot family and its largest shareholder are reportedly considering a buyout deal with Tencent and other investors to maintain control.

Moreover, Assassin’s Creed Shadows itself has not been without controversy, particularly in Japan. Ubisoft quietly released a day-one patch addressing concerns raised by some Japanese politicians about in-game temples and shrines. In a notable political exchange, Japanese politician Hiroyuki Kada brought up the issue in an official government meeting, prompting a response from Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

On Steam, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is receiving positive feedback, with an 81% 'very positive' user review rating from over 6,000 reviews. IGN's review awarded the game an 8/10, praising it for refining its existing systems and delivering one of the best iterations of the open-world style the series has honed over the past decade.

For those eager to explore feudal Japan, IGN offers a comprehensive Assassin’s Creed Shadows guide, including a detailed walkthrough, an interactive map, and insights into aspects the game doesn’t explicitly mention.

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