Even Assassin’s Creed: Mirage outsold it within three months. Ubisoft had pinned significant hopes on the title, but the long‑awaited Japanese setting couldn’t rescue the project.
Although Shadows enjoyed a strong opening — reaching three million players in its first week — total sales after six months amounted to just 4.3 million. That’s a disappointing return given the budget and development time. By comparison, Mirage moved 5 million copies in three months, and the previous trilogy also achieved higher sales.
The reasons for its failure are clear: the game launched feeling incomplete, with many expected features missing, and controversies over its depiction of feudal Japan harmed its public relations. Shadows’ budget was estimated at $116 million, yet today even 10 million sales is a common benchmark for AAA projects.
After the setback, Ubisoft and Tencent formed a new division, Vantage Studios, which will take charge of major franchises, including Assassin’s Creed.
Post‑release updates have added new mechanics and missions, but much of this content comes across as material that was cut from the original release.
Source: iXBT.games