It’s no secret that Assassin’s Creed is one of Ubisoft’s most lucrative franchises. Getting its start in 2007, the open world social stealth franchise has just reached a milestone that no one would have foretold 15 years ago. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is the first installment to surpass the $1 billion barrier in terms of revenue.
The news comes from an investors call last night, during which Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot relayed the title’s success. People that have been keeping track of the series’ evolving business model may have seen this coming at some point.
After taking its first year off to reinvent the series with Assassin’s Creed Origins, development and design priorities changed. Leaning more heavily on RPG elements, along with a more centralized focus on large open worlds, Assassin’s Creed took cues from live service titles by introducing some procedurally generated content and timed events.
Even 2018’s Assassin’s Creed Odyssey got new content late last year as part of its collaboration with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Of course, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla has become the most in-tune with its monetization and player engagement. Its setting and structure laid the foundation for its timed festival events, which have become popular with players, adding further incentive to continually jump back in beyond the more elaborate expansions.
