With its almost 18,000 employees and global footprint, Ubisoft has nevertheless suffered one setback after another in recent years with disappointing releases, a dwindling stock price, harassment allegations against former bosses and repeated strikes.

The company is falling back on its longtime major money-spinner "Assassin's Creed" to pull it from the doldrums, this time with an episode set in medieval Japan.

"I've never seen things this way" as the whole European industry looks to Ubisoft, Midcap Partners analyst Charles-Louis Planade told AFP ahead of the launch.

More than 17 Ubisoft studios employing hundreds have poured five years of work into "Shadows", with an estimated budget running into hundreds of millions of euros.

Early reviews have been positive, with the game receiving a "generally favourable" score of 81/100 on review aggregation site Metacritic.

That was one point higher than "Valhalla", the 2020 release that has so far been the high point of the series' profitability.

The latest instalment "looks better and plays better than nearly any other entry in Ubisoft's 18-year-old series", American games journalist Stephen Totilo wrote on his website Game File.

Meanwhile, gaming site IGN's review of "Shadows" said it "sharpens and refines (the series') edge without fully reforging it".

"Shadows" was partly developed at Ubisoft's studio in Quebec City, Canada.

The artistic director of Ubisoft-Quebec, Thierry Dansereau, told AFP at a launch event in the city that the company's "developers did everything they could to create the best game possible".

- Fingers crossed -

A lack of major changes to the game's mechanics could risk "leaving some players worn out", said Julien Pillot, an economist specialising in the cultural industries.

He suggested that Ubisoft's recent underwhelming releases "may be a sign that audiences are falling out of love with its games".

Nevertheless, Planade said that "everyone is crossing their fingers for this release to be a huge success".

He said a poor sales showing could provoke a knock-on effect across the entire industry, noting that in France alone, Ubisoft accounts for almost one-third of the country's 15,000 jobs in games development

In a social media post, Ubisoft said the release appeared to be a success.

"It's not even 4PM here in Canada and Assassin's Creed Shadows has already passed 1 million players!" the company said on X.

- Uncertain future -

Many budding creators pass through Ubisoft after completing their training, while former employees have founded new studios in France and around the world.

The company in 2023 launched a cost-cutting drive including studio closures and almost 2,000 layoffs.

The belt-tightening did not save Ubisoft from judgement on financial markets, with the stock falling from more than 100 euros ($109 at today's rates) 10 years ago to its all-time low of 9.01 euros in September.

Ubisoft shares had fallen almost 5.6 percent on Wednesday to trade at 12.60 euros by the time markets closed, despite the good early reviews for "Shadows".

Even before release of the hoped-for blockbuster, Ubisoft said it was "actively exploring various strategic and capitalistic options" for its future.

Early rumours suggested that could involve going private with help from Chinese tech giant Tencent, a major investor that holds 10 percent of Ubisoft.

More recently, multiple outlets have reported that the group could sell off much of its games catalogue to focus on its core titles.

"Every option is on the table" for Ubisoft's future, Planade said, with commercial success for "Shadows" likely to strengthen Ubisoft's hand in the negotiations.

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UBISOFT ENTERTAINMENT

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