Assassin's Creed: Shadows is a success, but not enough to save Ubisoft
Assassin's Creed: Shadows has reached two million players over the weekend, but is that enough to save Ubisoft? While this is good news, it's likely not enough.
This weekend was the launch weekend for the highly anticipated, and twice delayed, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows. This may have been one of the most watched launches of the last few years not only for the fan excitement, but also because of the state Ubisoft as a publisher has found itself in. Loud content creators were all too happy to ensure the world of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows imminent failure, but it seems they were wrong. Not only is the game receiving positive reviews across the board (81 / 100 on OpenCritic and 81% positive reviews from players on Steam), according to an announcement from Ubisoft over the weekend, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows has already reached over two million players.
Assassin’s Creed: Shadows is a success, but it’s probably not enough to save Ubisoft
Back in October, a sudden report shared that gaming giant Tencent was allegedly planning to acquire Ubisoft and turn it into a private company. Of course, that did not happen and has yet to happen, but it shows the precarious place the publisher was in as recently as six months ago. Tencent owns just under 10% of Ubisoft, and chances are that it will begin to increase. Though, Ubisoft is in a much better position with the success of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows. Had the game flopped as some were predicting, it could have been the final straw for the long-successful game publisher.
Assassin’s Creed: Shadows’ success is worth celebrating, but even if it had broken records, it likely still wouldn’t have been enough for the massive publisher to get itself completely out of hot water. Last year’s Star Wars: Outlaws and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora did not find the level of success expected of such normally profitable IP. Just under two months ago, Ubisoft shut down one studio and laid off 185 employees amid restructuring efforts. The Ubisoft ship was already sinking, AC: Shadows might plug the hole for a short while, but these aren’t company-saving numbers.
Thanks to a report from VideoGamesChronicle, we also know that AC: Shadows “delivered the second highest Day 1 sales revenue in the franchise’s history, only behind Valhalla.” This is notable for a few reasons, mainly that Valhalla had boosted pandemic sales, and most other Assassin’s Creed games have launched in the Fall, a traditionally more lucrative season for video game sales. There is no doubt that this game has found notable success.
But all the success in the world isn’t always what’s needed. Look at another huge video game publisher, WB Games. In 2023, they had a breakout hit in Hogwarts Legacy. It became the best-selling game that year, outdoing usual contenders like Call of Duty and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. But that didn’t stop WB from cancelling games and shutting down studios, like they recently did with Monolith and Wonder Woman. Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav said the company’s gaming division was its weakest link, in another report by VGC.
So, creating the best-selling game of the year wasn’t enough to put WB Games on solid footing. Chances are this modest success of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows won’t prevent a potential Tencent acquisition of Ubisoft. Of course, this success does put Ubisoft in a stronger position, but that might just ultimately mean more expensive shares for Tencent to buy up. We will have to wait to see how things play out over the next few months.
- Assassin's Creed: Shadows is not a „feudal Japanese movie.” Game's director explained Ubisoft's take on Naoe and Yasuke's story
- Assassin's Creed: Shadows received first update. Game shouldn't be compared to AC: Valhalla's „perfect storm” launch
- Elon Musk called AC: Shadows a terrible game, and got an official response. „Is that what the guy playing your PoE 2 account told you?”
