Assassin's Creed Shadows Recruits 2 Million Players To The Brotherhood In Its First Weekend

Assassin's Creed Shadows hit shelves at a crucial point in Ubisoft's history, with some analysts going so far as to call it an "existential moment" for the company. If reported player counts are any indication, Ubisoft's prayers may indeed be answered thanks to the Assassins Order's latest adventure.

Ubisoft itself reported two million players have entered the AC version of feudal Japan since the game's launch on March 20. While two million players does not equate to two million copies sold--Shadows is available to Ubisoft+ subscribers, for example--the social media post announcing the feat said that Shadows "surpassed the launches of AC Origins and Odyssey." Meanwhile, Christopher Dring of GamesIndustry.biz has reported that Shadows is "comfortably ahead" of Monster Hunter Wilds for biggest physical release in the UK this year.

SteamDB reports that Assassin's Creed Shadows launched with 41,000 players right out of the gate, with that number peaking at just over 64 thousand players three days later. This breaks the all-time concurrent record for a single Assassin's Creed game, which according to SteamDB's data was previously held by Assassin's Creed Odyssey's 62,000 users when it launched in 2018.

Ubisoft has found itself in dire straits in recent months, with company stock sinking to its worst figure in a decade after the underwhelming launch of Star Wars Outlaws last summer. Rumors have swirled regarding a sale of both the company and its individual franchises, with Tencent, Microsoft, and EA said to be in the mix.

The latest in Ubisoft's popular historical-fiction series, Assassin's Creed Shadows follows the samurai Yasuke and ninja Assassin Naoe as they battle the Templar Order in 16th-century Japan. Players can switch between the two Assassins and their unique playing styles to complete missions, with swords, daggers, naginata, and more weapons at their disposal.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is available now on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC.