Ubisoft hits 5 million with Assassin's Creed Shadows — but what’s coming next has us guessing

Screenshot of Assassin's Creed Shadows.
Assassin's Creed Shadows allows players to walk in the shoes of Naoe and Yasuke. (Image credit: Ubisoft)

The latest action-adventure title in the long-running Assassin's Creed franchise from Ubisoft has reached a new major player milestone.

That news comes by way of the official Assassin's Creed Instagram account, which shared on Tuesday that Assassin's Creed Shadows has crossed 5 million players since it launched back on March 20, 2025.

"Thank you for forging legends with us. Naoe & Yasuke’s journey continues—updates coming this week!" the post reads.

Previously, Ubisoft announced that Assassin's Creed Shadows had crossed 3 million players just a week after it launched. This new milestone means an additional 2 million players have jumped in across the months since the game arrived.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is also off to a strong start in sales, and as of May 2025, it's the third best-selling game in the U.S. for the year, only sitting behind Capcom's Monster Hunter Wilds and Bethesda Softworks' The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered.

A solid start, but what is next for Ubisoft?

Assassin's Creed Shadows seems to have done well so far, and with more downloadable content on the way that'll give more players a reason to return or jump in for the first time, the game seems to be in a great place.

It does make me curious just what is next for Ubisoft, though, as the company's release slate hasn't looked this barren in years, if ever. A new entry in the ever-reliable Anno city-building franchise is coming this November, but other titles seem to be a ways out.

Ubisoft is working on numerous games, including The Division 3, a remake of Splinter Cell, several new Assassin's Creed titles, a reported remake of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, and more.

The next mainline Assassin's Creed game is currently referred to as Codename Hexe, and it has been teased to be quite different from prior games in the series, possibly eschewing the large-scale role-playing format of games like Origins, Odyssey, Valhalla, and Shadows.

There is also an update for Massive Entertainment's Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora on the way, with the game getting a third-person mode in December to coincide with the theatrical release of the upcoming Avatar: Fire and Ash.

In the meantime, if you haven't played it yet, my colleague Zachary Boddy reviewed Assassin's Creed Shadows, writing that it "all comes together to create a game-of-the-year contender for 2025. I can't overstate how impressive it is for any title to retain my attention for more than 60 hours, let alone keep me hooked for well over 100. Assassin's Creed Shadows isn't perfect, but I love it anyway."

Assassin's Creed Shadows is available across Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC (via Epic Games Store, Ubisoft, and Steam), PlayStation 5, and macOS.

Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows: at CDKeys

Assassin's Creed Shadows is the latest big game from Ubisoft. Players can dive into Feudal Japan, swapping between the stealthy Naoe and the powerful Yasuke as they fight foes lurking in the shadows or hiding in broad daylight.

Buy from:
Amazon (Xbox Series X) | Best Buy (Xbox Series X) | CDKeys (Xbox Series X|S)

Samuel Tolbert
Freelance Writer

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Bluesky ‪@samueltolbert.bsky.social‬.

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