Assassin's Creed Origins and Odyssey Reach Impressive 40 Million Players Milestone

Image via Ubisoft

Ubisoft has revealed that its popular action games, Assassin's Creed Origins and Odyssey, have each surpassed 40 million players worldwide.

The achievement comes from a combination of traditional sales and players accessing the games through modern subscription services like Ubisoft+ and Xbox Game Pass.

Released in 2017 and 2018 respectively, Origins and Odyssey represented a major shift for the Assassin's Creed franchise. These titles moved away from the action-adventure style of earlier games and embraced role-playing game (RPG) elements. Origins takes players to Ancient Egypt, while Odyssey explores Ancient Greece during the Peloponnesian War.

Both games have earned solid critical acclaim. According to OpenCritic, Origins holds a strong 85/100 score, while Odyssey follows closely with 84/100.

Players on newer consoles can enjoy enhanced versions of both games, as they received special upgrades for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S that improve graphics and performance.

While the 40 million player figure is impressive, it's important to note that this doesn't translate directly to sales. According to Game Rant's estimate, Assassin's Creed Origins has sold approximately 10-11 million copies since its release, while Odyssey has performed slightly better with estimated sales of 12-15 million units.

The significant gap between sales and player count highlights the impact of Ubisoft's subscription and cloud gaming strategy. Many players have accessed these games through services like Ubisoft+ and Xbox Game Pass rather than purchasing them outright

For instance, by 2020, both Origin and Odyssey had sold approximately 10 million copies, but their player base has increased 4X since then, primarily due to services like Game Pass.

This continued interest in older Assassin's Creed titles comes as Ubisoft celebrates success with its newest entry in the series. Assassin's Creed Shadows, which launched last month, has already attracted over 3 million players in its first week. The game, set in feudal Japan with dual protagonists, has quickly found an audience.

Shadows has dominated sales charts since its release. Data from market research firm Circana shows it held the top-selling position in the US for three consecutive weeks after launch. It currently stands as 2025's second best-selling game in the US market, behind only Capcom's Monster Hunter Wilds.

Ubisoft has confirmed that Shadows achieved the second-highest day-one sales revenue in Assassin's Creed history, trailing only behind 2020's Assassin's Creed Valhalla. The company also noted that Shadows set a new record as their strongest day-one launch ever on the PlayStation Store.

The broader Assassin's Creed franchise remains Ubisoft's crown jewel, with over 200 million copies sold across all titles (not counting subscription service players). Valhalla, released in 2020, currently holds the title of best-selling game in the series with estimated sales between 15 to 20 million copies.