Assassin's Creed: Shadows is going for the win. Game's release did better than AC: Valhalla, the series' most profitable installment
Assassin's Creed: Shadows can measure up to the best titles of the series - at least in terms of the number of players the title attracts right after its release. Some indications are that Ubisoft's latest creation has surpassed even the most profitable installment of the series - AC: Valhalla.
Ubisoft may have reasons to be pleased - Assassin's Creed: Shadows attracted 2 million players within the first three days of its release, making it one of the best debuts in the series' history. The game outperforms AC: Origins and AC: Odyssey in a comparable period. The title is rapidly expanding its user base on Steam, with the number of concurrent players nearing the record set by AC: Odyssey, which peaked at 61,984 players (this number was surpassed a few hours after this news was published). In contrast - AC: Shadows already has a score of 60,086 - so it's just a hair's breadth away from taking the lead (via SteamDB).
How does Shadows compare to Valhalla?
Comparing the release of Shadows to Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla is not easy, as Ubisoft never provided precise data on the number of players in the first days after the launch of the latter title. In an official statement from November 2020, the publisher announced that AC: Valhalla had the best debut in the series' history, and on the day of the release, the number of players was twice as high as for AC: Odyssey.
However, it's worth paying attention to another statistic provided by Ubisoft. The company revealed that within a week of AC: Valhalla's release, at least one in-game drunken challenge was completed by 1.8 million players. Since the first such challenge is available at the beginning of the adventure, it can be assumed that this value fairly accurately reflects the number of users that Valhalla attracted in the first week. This would suggest that Assassin’s Creed: Shadows might likely have an even more successful launch than Valhalla, attracting 2 million players in the first three days after its release.
Financial results and records of Valhalla
AC: Valhalla not only had a strong start, but in the long run, it became the most profitable installment of the series. Two months after the launch, it generated the highest revenues in the brand's history, and in February 2022, Ubisoft confirmed that the game had exceeded one billion dollars in revenue (via Eurogamer). The impact was due not only to the game's basic version but also to the comprehensive post-launch support, which included story expansions and various cosmetic packs.
Ubisoft is probably counting on Assassin’s Creed: Shadows to maintain a strong pace and prove to be a success, which would improve the company's dire situation in the market. The game isn't facing the technical issues that previously impacted the series' reception, and early reviews from players and critics are positive despite the significant controversy the title generates (Steam shows 81% positive reviews out of over 7200 submitted). At the same time, questions arise about the long-term support model and Ubisoft's loudly criticized monetization strategy, which may affect the perception of the game in the future (the Claws of Awaji story expansion is still ahead of us).
For now, Shadows has had a start that could herald a repeat or even surpass the success of Valhalla. The next few months will reveal if Ubisoft truly has a new financial success comparable to its most profitable Assassin's Creed, or if the saying "don't count your chickens before they're hatched" will be relevant.
- Assassin's Creed: Shadows Review: Great combat and stealth, where plot plays it too safe
- Assassin’s Creed: Shadows - guide
