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

Ubisoft has celebrated another significant milestone for Assassin's Creed Shadows, announcing that the game has reached 2 million players since its launch on March 20. This impressive figure is a notable increase from the 1 million players achieved on its first day. Ubisoft highlighted that this performance has surpassed the launch numbers of both Assassin's Creed Origins and Assassin's Creed Odyssey. In a social media post, they expressed gratitude to the community, stating, "Thank you for joining the journey in Feudal Japan!"

Despite this success, Ubisoft has not yet released official sales figures for Assassin's Creed Shadows. However, the game has secured the top spot as the best-selling title on Steam, marking Ubisoft's return to the platform after years of exclusivity on the Epic Games Store. At the time of this article's publication, Assassin's Creed Shadows boasted 58,894 concurrent players on Steam, placing it within the top 30 most-played games on Valve's platform. Analysts predict that this peak will continue to rise over the game's opening weekend.

For context, Assassin's Creed Origins achieved a peak of 41,551 players on Steam, while Assassin's Creed Odyssey reached 62,069. Given these numbers, Assassin's Creed Shadows is poised to potentially become the most-played game on Steam later this weekend. It's important to note, however, that the game's true concurrent peak will be much higher, considering its simultaneous launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, platforms for which player numbers are not publicly disclosed by Sony or Microsoft.

Assassin's Creed Shadows faces immense global pressure to perform well for Ubisoft, following multiple delays and the commercial disappointment of last year's Star Wars Outlaws. Ubisoft has experienced several challenges, including high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations leading up to Shadows' release. The situation became so dire that Ubisoft's founding Guillemot family and its largest shareholder are reportedly exploring a buyout deal with Tencent and other investors to maintain control.

The game has not been without controversy, particularly in Japan. This week, IGN confirmed that Ubisoft released a day-one patch for Assassin's Creed Shadows, making significant changes in response to concerns from Japanese politicians about in-game representations of temples and shrines. In a notable political exchange, Japanese politician Hiroyuki Kada raised the issue in an official government meeting, prompting a response from Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

On Steam, Assassin's Creed Shadows has been well-received, earning a 'very positive' user review rating, with 81% of over 6,000 reviews being positive. IGN's review of Assassin's Creed Shadows awarded it an 8/10, praising the game for refining its existing systems and delivering one of the best open-world experiences the series has offered in the last 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 essential game tips that might not be immediately apparent.

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