Ubisoft’s decision to sink over €100 million into Assassin’s Creed Shadows was bold, to say the least.
Because of recent weak launches and internal shake-ups, the publisher is under a lot of pressure, and Shadows had to perform big.
According to Ubisoft’s CEO, Yves Guillemot, the cost wasn’t just for the game itself, but also for major upgrades to the engine powering it.
This technical investment, along with a massive development team that earned the game a famously long credits roll, likely pushed the real cost even higher than reported.
Are Ubisoft’s Numbers That Big Compared to the Competition?
While €100 million sounds like a lot, in today’s AAA space, it’s actually on the lower end of blockbuster game budgets.
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+ 4For comparison, Spider-Man 2 reportedly crossed $300 million, and games like The Last of Us Part II and Horizon Forbidden West each hovered around or above $200 million.
Still, Ubisoft doesn’t operate on the same financial cushion as Sony. For them, a €100 million+ gamble has to land—there’s not much room for a flop.
Did Shadows Have a Strong Enough Start?
Fortunately, Shadows launched well despite doubts, becoming Ubisoft’s second-best Assassin’s Creed debut after Valhalla.
click to enlarge+ 4In terms of sales and player count, it outperformed Odyssey during its comparable launch window.
While Ubisoft hasn’t released exact unit sales, analysts estimate it cleared at least 3 million copies shortly after release.
And even though Ubisoft+ subscribers also count toward that number, external tracking groups like Circana and GfK have ranked it among the top three sellers in both the US and Europe.
Has It Reached Its Break-Even Point Yet?
The initial momentum could help the game reach its breakeven point, especially with more content coming soon.
click to enlarge+ 4Post-launch updates have started, including a free new Nightmare difficulty. This is an important decision from a company often blamed for loading its paid games with microtransactions.
Ubisoft has continued to defend those monetization choices in investor briefings, even going as far as to say they enhance player enjoyment.
Understandably, that hasn’t sat well with parts of the community. Pay-to-skip boosters and cosmetic add-ons still get a lot of criticism, especially on Reddit and Steam.
In the End, Was It Worth It?
At the end of the day, Ubisoft is focused on profits, and despite some flaws and mixed opinions on its creative direction, Shadows is proving to be a winning investment.
click to enlarge+ 4For a company in need of a win, Assassin’s Creed Shadows hit the key marks: financial turnaround, stronger brand presence, and investor reassurance.
It’s still unclear if it will be remembered as one of the series’ best or just a well-timed commercial hit. But for now, betting big on Shadows looks more like a masterstroke than a mistake.
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