Assassin's Creed Valhalla seems to be a game that keeps on giving, despite the numerous criticisms about it as "just another boring Ubisoft open-world game."
assassin's creed valhalla
That's because if going by player count, the latest instalment in the long-running franchise has had more unique players last year compared to just four months after it launched, report Eurogamer. The information comes from Ubisoft's annual financial results, which were released recently.
What the stats are basically showing is that many new people are still buying - and sticking with - Valhalla, even if it's been on the market for so long. Compared to 2018's Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Valhalla earned almost double what the Ancient Greek adventure earned. And this is perhaps due to how Ubi has kept their Viking-era stab-a-thon updated the entire time with new content, both paid and free.
So far, the game has had three major story expansions: Wrath of the Druids, Siege of Paris, and the standalone expansion Dawn of Ragnarok. But more than that, the game also seems to regularly add new game modes, challenges, and even new story-driven quests - which included the Odyssey-Valhalla crossover that brought together Kassandra and Eivor.
But after Valhalla, there seems to be a massive, gaping hole in Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed release schedule. It's been almost two years since it released - already a far cry from the franchise's old annual release pattern. And the rumored sequels are still nowhere to be found during that time.
For now, the only one confirmed is the one project codenamed Assassin's Creed Infinity. Ubi has said it is currently in development, though numerous reports say it won't be out for at least a couple of years more. In its place, a new spin-off game rumored to be set in Baghdad (and featuring recurring Valhalla character Basim) is said to be coming, though the studio also hasn't made an official announcement for it yet.
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Assassin's Creed Valhalla's (Unprecedented) Success At A Glance
Ask any typical AAA gamer these days about the Assassin's Creed franchise, and you might get an answer saying that the entire series has gone stale. They might argue that it hasn't shown much improvement for so many years now. And yet, the series still manages to sell in spades - with Valhalla seemingly proving everyone wrong.
That's because the game has now topped over $1 billion in overall revenue, which made it the highest-earning game in the franchise's history. According to ScreenRant, it was also the fastest-selling AC game in the series, which led Ubisoft to have its most profitable quarter ever.
Take note that Valhalla is doing this despite the recent criticisms that Ubisoft's open-world game formula has gone sour. The studio was acknowledging fan criticisms saying that open-world maps have become way too big. Still, they defended their formula by saying that games can still benefit from being bigger.
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Story posted on GameNGuide
Written by RJ Pierce
