Ubisoft is screwed...
Ubisoft's upcoming game Assassin's Creed Shadows is facing a hysterically paltry low preorder numbers in the lead-up to its release. According to Stuttering Craig from the Side Scrollers Podcast, the game has garnered less than 800 pre-orders from a 'high traffic game store' major national retail chain boasting over 900 stores.
Craig revealed on X that, according to his source within the retail chain, each store has registered less than one pre-order on average for the game on platforms like Xbox and PS5. This is bad for Ubisoft. Real Bad. It points to a serious lack of consumer interest in what they were expecting to be a blockbuster addition to the Assassin's Creed franchise.
The news comes after a similar tweet regarding Ubisoft's other major game releasing this week, Star Wars Outlaws - which also showed disheartening pre-order figures from another high-traffic retail chain. Craig's source indicated that Star Wars Outlaws secured only 41 pre-orders across 27 stores in one of the most densely populated regions of the United States, further highlighting a serious decrease in any potential enthusiasm for Ubisoft's latest offerings.
Yikes.
Taking a look over at digital platforms isn't any better. On the PlayStation Store, "Star Wars: Outlaws" is currently lagging behind several other titles in terms of pre-orders.
On the 'Top 10 games in your country', it's all the way back at number 7... Right in front of the (over a decade old) GTA V.
Oh... and they've resorted to giving the game away with purchases of select Nvidia graphics cards, so, there's that...
This hasn't stopped good ol' Kotaku troll extraordinaire from chiming in - Alyssa Mercante couldn't help but start hurling attacks at Craig for his insights. Yes, this is the very same Alyssa Mercante that is currently threatening to sue others for mean words they've said to her. Someone please make it make sense...
But regardless, these reportedly low pre-order numbers for "Assassin's Creed Shadows" are a clear indicator of the challenges facing Ubisoft. They're going to need to reevaluate their strategies and kick the DEI injections out of their studios - but I wouldn't hold my breath.
Gamers have spoken. They've had enough of this garbage 'politically correct' approach from these companies... Only problem is... It may be too late for Ubisoft to even bother listening.
~Smash