The Game Ubisoft Needed

Assassin's Creed Shadows achieved the second-highest day-one sales revenue in the history of the franchise, ranking only behind Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Ubisoft stated that the game surpassed a million players on its release date and three million players within a week. 

Shadows set a record for the most day-one digital revenue on the PlayStation Store for the entire Assassin's Creed franchise  — a milestone that came at the perfect moment for a publisher that had spent much of 2024 fighting off bankruptcy rumors.

Dominating the Charts

The sales story only got better with time. Assassin's Creed Shadows was the best-selling video game in the US for each of its first three weeks on the market, with only Monster Hunter: Wilds achieving higher week-one dollar sales in 2025.

In Europe, Assassin's Creed Shadows became the best-selling new game of 2025 so far, outperforming other major releases of the year.  By the end of the year, it was confirmed as the best-selling non-sports or shooter console game of 2025 — an extraordinary achievement for a primarily single-player title. 

Two Protagonists, Two Worlds

The game takes the historical action franchise to feudal Japan for the first time, where a young shinobi named Naoe and the foreign-born samurai Yasuke band together to hunt down those responsible for the death of Naoe's father. 

While Shadows' review scores aren't quite as high as some of the franchise's most beloved entries, many players still regard it as a solid installment with impressive graphics and distinctly different playstyles between its two main protagonists. 

The dual-protagonist system is where the game truly shines — Naoe rewards patience, stealth, and precision, while Yasuke delivers raw, brutal power fantasy. Switching between them mid-mission is one of the most creative mechanics the series has introduced in years.

From Controversy to Triumph

The road to launch was anything but smooth. The game was initially scheduled for November 15, 2024, then delayed to February 14, 2025 for further polishing, and pushed again to March 20, 2025 as Ubisoft explored its sale options and gave developers more time for additional changes. 

The controversies were equally loud. The decision to feature Yasuke — an African samurai inspired by a real historical figure — as a central protagonist drew significant online backlash at reveal. Industry veterans, however, pushed back hard. Okami and Bayonetta creator Hideki Kamiya complimented Assassin's Creed Shadows while dismissing the initial backlash as "overblown." 

History proved the critics of the game wrong — and the players spoke with their wallets.

Overperforming Into 2026

The momentum didn't stop at launch. On its half-year 2026 report ending September 30, 2025, Ubisoft reported that Shadows was "overperforming" — and according to Ubisoft's fiscal year report, it outperformed Assassin's Creed Odyssey in consumer spending. 

The Switch 2 version launched on December 2, 2025, broadening the game's audience even further  — bringing feudal Japan to Nintendo's hybrid platform with all the visual fidelity the hardware could muster.

What's Next: Claws of Awaji

One DLC expansion is planned — Claws of Awaji — taking Naoe and Yasuke to a new region for a "spookier" experience spanning 10 hours of additional content.  For fans who have already explored every corner of Shadows' breathtaking open world, the expansion promises a darker, more atmospheric chapter.

The Verdict

Assassin's Creed Shadows is the story of a franchise that found its footing again by doing something bold — taking one of gaming's most iconic series to a setting fans had been requesting for over a decade, and trusting two very different protagonists to carry it.

It didn't silence every critic. But it won over millions of players, rescued Ubisoft's balance sheet, and reminded the industry that great open-world design never goes out of style.

Feudal Japan was always the right choice. It just took Ubisoft long enough to get there.