Multiplat Assassin’s Creed Shadows

[Madmick]

Ubisoft announced it was the second highest AC game in revenue.

LOL, who cares? That's meaningless.

• PC gaming is over 50% larger than console by global revenue, and Shadows was the first game since 2019 that Ubisoft released on Day 1 to Steam (so Valhalla and Mirage are out)
• From the first AC through Rogue the games didn't even release to PC on Day 1; in some cases, like AC4, it didn't even release to Playstation on Day 1
• While there shouldn't be a huge disparity in console install bases, the number of PC gamers was less than 2/3rd a decade ago than what it is today when Unity released
• Shadows has a $70 buy price which is 17% higher than it was for any previous game in the series
• Additionally, over the same decade that the number of gamers rose, microtransactions have swelled to become a much larger portion of revenue that game-makers reap, and compounding this evolution is the fact that due to high inflation $1 USD today, for example, would have been worth only $0.74 when Unity released in 2014

Revisit the chart I shared earlier of first week sales:

1. Assassin’s Creed: 1.24 million
2. Assassin’s Creed II: 3.27 million
3. Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood: 2.15 million
4. Assassin’s Creed Revelations: 2.22 million
5. Assassin’s Creed III: 3.52 million
6. Assassin’s Creed IV: 2.36 million
7. Assassin's Creed Rogue: ???
8. Assassin’s Creed Unity: 2 million
9. Assassins Creed Syndicate: 0.92 million
10. Assassin’s Creed Origins: 1.5-1.7 million
11. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: 1.4-1.5 million
12. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: 1.7million
13. Assassin’s Creed Mirage: 1.4-1.7 million
14. Assassin's Creed: Shadows: ???

So if we're looking at proper PS/XB/Steam releases it was #2 in total revenue out of 5 ACs when the others were 4 of the 6 worst selling games in the series, or 4 of the 5 worst selling if we exclude the seminal game before it became a juggernaut IP...with a 17% higher price tag.

In other words, quite realistically, it could hold that "#2 in Day 1 Revenue!" boast despite being possibly the 2nd worst seller in franchise history ahead of only Syndicate. That's the kind of shit a marketing exec puts on social media, alright.

I don't think there was any sales figure that AC could realistically reach that would have saved Ubisoft.

Perhaps, but clearly this isn't a moneymaker, just more of the same that's been sinking the ship, or they wouldn't be so eagerly carving up the company.

 

[avenue94]

When I was asking about this game months ago, the guy behind the counter told me that the entirety of Japan was pissed off about the Characters and that it caused the release of the game to be held back. The overall attitude, as he told me, was that no gamer in Japan was going to buy it.

You know how I know you're gullible and the guy behind the counter was full of shit? Japan is dwarfed by other major markets. There's no point in delaying a game out of holiday season to appease a smaller market, that's just a self-own.

 

[The Dark Knight]

LOL, who cares? That's meaningless.

• PC gaming is over 50% larger than console by global revenue, and Shadows was the first game since 2019 that Ubisoft released on Day 1 to Steam (so Valhalla and Mirage are out)
• From the first AC through Rogue the games didn't even release to PC on Day 1; in some cases, like AC4, it didn't even release to Playstation on Day 1
• While there shouldn't be a huge disparity in console install bases, the number of PC gamers was less than 2/3rd a decade ago than what it is today when Unity released
• Shadows has a $70 buy price which is 17% higher than it was for any previous game in the series
• Additionally, over the same decade that the number of gamers rose, microtransactions have swelled to become a much larger portion of revenue that game-makers reap, and compounding this evolution is the fact that due to high inflation $1 USD today, for example, would have been worth only $0.74 when Unity released in 2014

Revisit the chart I shared earlier of first week sales:

1. Assassin’s Creed: 1.24 million
2. Assassin’s Creed II: 3.27 million
3. Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood: 2.15 million
4. Assassin’s Creed Revelations: 2.22 million
5. Assassin’s Creed III: 3.52 million
6. Assassin’s Creed IV: 2.36 million
7. Assassin's Creed Rogue: ???
8. Assassin’s Creed Unity: 2 million
9. Assassins Creed Syndicate: 0.92 million
10. Assassin’s Creed Origins: 1.5-1.7 million
11. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: 1.4-1.5 million
12. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: 1.7million
13. Assassin’s Creed Mirage: 1.4-1.7 million
14. Assassin's Creed: Shadows: ???

So if we're looking at proper PS/XB/Steam releases it was #2 in total revenue out of 5 ACs when the others were 4 of the 6 worst selling games in the series, or 4 of the 5 worst selling if we exclude the seminal game before it became a juggernaut IP...with a 17% higher price tag.

In other words, quite realistically, it could hold that "#2 in Day 1 Revenue!" boast despite being possibly the 2nd worst seller in franchise history ahead of only Syndicate. That's the kind of shit a marketing exec puts on social media, alright.

Perhaps, but clearly this isn't a moneymaker, just more of the same that's been sinking the ship, or they wouldn't be so eagerly carving up the company.

Dumb question. They just announced that it had more than 3 million people playing. Wouldn't that mean 3 million in sales? https://www.gamesradar.com/games/as...revenue-in-assassins-creed-franchise-history/

 

[GtehMVP]

Dumb question. They just announced that it had more than 3 million people playing. Wouldn't that mean 3 million in sales? https://www.gamesradar.com/games/as...revenue-in-assassins-creed-franchise-history/

They have that Ubi + subsciption thing that gives you access to the game for $20 Canadian a month ($15 US?).

3 million players doesn't mean $3 mil in game sales.

 

[Madmick]

Dumb question. They just announced that it had more than 3 million people playing. Wouldn't that mean 3 million in sales? https://www.gamesradar.com/games/as...revenue-in-assassins-creed-franchise-history/

Not clear, but I doubt it. Probably being creative with "unique" players, and counting smurfs, or something else. At the very least you can't compare it to sales figures given. Because Valhalla is named as the game it trailed, due to the COVID gamer-boom, and yet Valhalla's 1st week of sales were quoted at the figure given by Superdata.

*4/28 Edit*
So the following post from the future throws a splash of cold water on Ubisoft's self-hype, here. When Ubisoft released these figures their peak player count was just 64K on Steam at the identical point in the stage of its release cycle as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The latter is also multiplatform, and the social media post quoted below was also shared 3 days after the game's launch. Yet its Steam peak concurrent players has already hit nearly double AC:Shadows with 121K players. Despite obviously being twice as popular, they only share 1M sales, when I'm sure they could probably claim 5m+ players by whatever silly metric Ubisoft is using, here.

Big ups to these guys: 1M copy milestone reached. Glad dawgs are enjoying it.

 

[Dizzy]

“The sales aren’t there”

Regarding a deal that has been in the works for months before the title was even released.

The dumbest fucking people lol

 

[The Dark Knight]

They have that Ubi + subsciption thing that gives you access to the game for $20 Canadian a month ($15 US?).

3 million players doesn't mean $3 mil in game sales.

Thanks

 

[jefferz]

They have that Ubi + subsciption thing that gives you access to the game for $20 Canadian a month ($15 US?).

3 million players doesn't mean $3 mil in game sales.

It's $15 USD if you buy a year, monthly is $18.
How many people do you think actually subscribe to that service?

 

[GtehMVP]

It's $15 USD if you buy a year, monthly is $18.
How many people do you think actually subscribe to that service?

Thx, and no clue. Whatever it is I'd imagine it fluctuates heavily between big releases.

 

[KaNesDeath]

Why else would they create a separate "subsidiary" with every one of their most valuable IPs to sell a quarter stake to the largest international gaming conglomerate in the world?

To insure developing funding on their known portfolio of IP's. While the separate sister company assumes all risk on newly developed IP games; like XDefiant. Also gives the Guillemot family a potential way of pushing out Tencent minority stake one day.

 

[NoSmilez]

Selling out also helps them get into the Chinese market. There will probably be an AC China. You aren't going to assassinate Mao but you can probably kill Lu Bu.

 

[Madmick]

To insure developing funding on their known portfolio of IP's. While the separate sister company assumes all risk on newly developed IP games; like XDefiant. Also gives the Guillemot family a potential way of pushing out Tencent minority stake one day.

LOL. They have zero intention of "pushing out Tencent minority stake", although I'd love to hear how they pull off a freeze-out. No, their clear hopes are to set up a future sale of the remainder of the newly formed company. There isn't any disproportionate inheritance of risk/reward. It's a simple calculation: if future games in these IPs sell well, the sale commands a higher buy-out price from Tencent. If they don't, Tencent gets the company for even more cheaply.

This was a piece PCN published six days ago prior to Ubisoft's sequestration and sale. It affirms everything I've said.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows isn’t the hit Ubisoft “desperately needs,” analyst says​

Despite some really encouraging sales and engagement numbers, both officially revealed and reported, a top analyst now claims that its strong performance may not be strong enough, saying that Shadows isn’t “the smash hit Ubisoft desperately needs”...

As mentioned, Ubisoft triumphantly announced a couple of days ago that two million players h]ave already picked up Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Today, it’s been reported by VGC that in terms of sales revenue, Shadows has achieved the second biggest launch in the series, behind only 2020’s Valhalla....

MIDiA Research’s Rhys Elliott says that “the numbers do NOT reflect [the] smash hit Ubisoft desperately needs” and predicts that “given the scope and development time of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the title has almost certainly not broken-even yet.”

While launching on Steam straight away was certainly a boon for the game, Elliot compares Shadows’ numbers on the platform to the port of Ghost of Tsushima, which treads on similar ground to the new Assassin’s Creed. Despite it being a port of a then-four-year-old game, Ghost of Tsushima sold roughly twice as many copies on Steam at launch than Shadows, according to data pulled from Alinea Analytics.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Steam sales also pale in comparison to some of 2025’s true mega hits so far. Three days after launch, Shadows has apparently sold 310,000 copies. In a similar time frame, Split Fiction shifted 882,500 units on Steam, and the gargantuan Monster Hunter Wilds sold almost ten times better than Shadows with 3.7 million units, according to Alinea’s data.

 

[KaNesDeath]

LOL. They have zero intention of "pushing out Tencent minority stake",

Like all other game studios. Ubisoft has repeatedly tried and failed to create the next Fortnite. Known IP's have stagnated in reach yet are still profitable. With the repetitive problem of increased development cost with each new release.

Guillemot family is basically pulling a Fastow with this deal. Long term this has three outcomes. With the Guillemot family hoping for the first two. Third outcome is a full Tencent acquisition.

 

[Flower2dPeople]

Selling out also helps them get into the Chinese market. There will probably be an AC China. You aren't going to assassinate Mao but you can probably kill Lu Bu.

It's separate entity I believe not THE Ubisoft that has tencent joining. Can't remember who's hot take I read/hear but the Guillemot are adamant in not selling the company even though it's the most obvious next move.

 

[NoSmilez]

It's separate entity I believe not THE Ubisoft that has tencent joining. Can't remember who's hot take I read/hear but the Guillemot are adamant in not selling the company even though it's the most obvious next move.

My understanding is that they made a small subsidiary that allows tencent to invest in Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six franchises.

Tencent was already involved with Ubisoft through the Guillemots. I believe they own 49 percent of the Guillemot Brothers company that owns stake in Ubisoft. That was the original deal to help bring Ubisoft to China. I think that was 2021 or 2022? This new one is a partnership to manage those 3 big franchises.

Tencent is everywhere. I was surprised they are involved with the company that made Baldur's Gate 3 and also Fromsoft that made Elden Ring. I don't think some of the games they invested in are available in China.

 

[Flower2dPeople]

My understanding is that they made a small subsidiary that allows tencent to invest in Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six franchises.

Tencent was already involved with Ubisoft through the Guillemots. I believe they own 49 percent of the Guillemot Brothers company that owns stake in Ubisoft. That was the original deal to help bring Ubisoft to China. I think that was 2021 or 2022? This new one is a partnership to manage those 3 big franchises.

Tencent is everywhere. I was surprised they are involved with the company that made Baldur's Gate 3 and also Fromsoft that made Elden Ring. I don't think some of the games they invested in are available in China.

They probably trying to move ever slowly away from China from the looks of it. They might get Jack Ma.

 

[Lovestorm]

I've actually had a blast with this. I was on the fence due to how the combat looked in some previews but it actually flows much better than i expected. Naoe's stealth gameplay is really good compared to the rest of the modern AC games.

It isn't perfect by any means and there is some clunk and shitty AI here and there but it's one of my fav AC games and takes many steps in a better direction.