Assassin's Creed Shadows Pre-Orders in Line With Series' Second Biggest Launch, Says Ubisoft

Ubisoft said pre-orders for AC Shadows were “tracking solidly,” and were “in line with those of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey."

Written by Manas Mitul | Updated: 14 February 2025 15:28 IST

Assassin's Creed Shadows Pre-Orders in Line With Series' Second Biggest Launch, Says Ubisoft

Photo Credit: Ubisoft

Assassin's Creed Shadows features dual protagonists

Highlights

Assassin's Creed Shadows is set in 16th-century Japan
The game has been delayed twice and is now set for release on March 20
Assassin's Creed Shadows' protagonist is a Samurai of African origin

Assassin's Creed Shadows pre-order numbers have been encouraging, Ubisoft said at its third-quarter 2024-25 earnings call on Thursday. The Japan-set action-RPG is set for launch on March 20 and is the first mainline Assassin's Creed title since 2020's Assassin's Creed Valhalla. The publisher did not disclose pre-order numbers for the game, but said they were in line with 2018's Assassin's Creed Odyssey.

Assassin's Creed Shadows Pre-Orders 'Tracking Solidly'

Coming on the back of major releases like Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Star Wars Outlaws failing to meet the company's sales expectations, Ubisoft needs Assassin's Creed Shadows to be a commercial success. The French developer expects its biggest franchise to perform well after a year that saw its share price fall to a 10-year low following the underwhelming launch of Star Wars Outlaws in August 2024.

In its Q3 2025 earnings report, Ubisoft said pre-orders for AC Shadows were “tracking solidly,” and were “in line with those of Assassin's Creed Odyssey, the second most successful entry of the franchise.”

Assassin's Creed Shadows Will Allow Players to Stick to One Protagonist

The publisher also highlighted “positive previews” for the game. It's worth noting that Assassin's Creed Odyssey has sold over 10 million copies. Assassin's Creed Valhalla remains the most successful game in the franchise and is said to have generated $1 billion in revenue.

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said AC Shadows would be the most ambitious Assassin's Creed game yet.

“We are fully focused on the upcoming launch of Assassin's Creed Shadows on March 20. Early previews have been positive, praising its narrative and immersive experience, with both characters playing critical roles in the game's storyline, as well as the quality and complementarity of the gameplay provided by the dual protagonist approach,” he said in the earnings report.

Assassin's Creed Shadows Combat Overview Details Weapons, Abilities and More

“I want to commend the incredible talent and dedication of the entire Assassin's Creed's team, who is working tirelessly to ensure that Shadows delivers on the promise of what is the franchise's most ambitious entry yet.”

Ubisoft also reported its third-quarter net bookings of EUR 301.8 million (roughly Rs. 2,745 crore) in line with its revised expectations. Guillemot said the company's cost reduction measures were progressing well, with fixed cost base reduction to exceed EUR 200 million (roughly Rs. 1,819 crore) by end of FY 2024-25 compared to FY 2022-23. The cost cutting was achieved in part due to closures of four studios and restructuring efforts at three other sites. More closures and restructuring efforts could follow, as well. "We plan to pursue our efforts in FY26, going beyond the initial target by a significant margin," Guillemot said.

The twice-delayed Assassin's Creed Shadows was initially set for launch in November 2024, before being delayed to February 14, 2025. At the time of announcing the delay, Ubisoft had said it needed the additional time to further polish the game. Last month, the game was pushed back a second time to a March 20 release across PC, PS5 and Xbox Series S/X.

Assassin's Creed Shadows

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Genre Action-Adventure

Platform Amazon Luna, PlayStation 5 (PS5), Xbox Series S/X, PC: Windows, PC: macOS

Modes Single-player

Series Assassin's Creed

PEGI Rating 16+

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Further reading: Assassins Creed Shadows, Assassins Creed, Ubisoft, Assassins Creed Odyssey

Manas Mitul

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In his time as a journalist, Manas Mitul has written on a wide spectrum of beats including politics, culture and sports. He enjoys reading, walking around in museums and rewatching films. Talk to Manas about footbal... more »