When Assassin’s Creed Shadows launched on March 20, 2025, it carried the weight of Ubisoft’s ambitions—and its woes. Set in the breathtaking world of feudal Japan, the game arrived after a turbulent journey marked by two delays and a speculated development budget of $250 million to $350 million. For a company grappling with financial strain and a string of underperforming titles, Shadows was a high-stakes bet.
Now, a recent revelation has thrust its marketing strategy into the spotlight: Ubisoft spent $2.1 million on influencers to secure the game’s launch, sparking a firestorm of debate about money, influence, and the future of AAA gaming.
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The Scale of the Campaign: Ubisoft’s $2.1 million influencer push generated 179.4 million views, with Twitch taking the lion’s share of the budget and creators like HasanAbi leading the charge.
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Fan Backlash: The decision to partner with controversial figures and the ethics of influencer marketing have ignited fierce criticism among gaming communities.
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Uncertain Payoff: While early metrics show promise, questions linger about whether this investment truly drove Shadows’ success—or if organic buzz outshined paid hype.
The Influencer Campaign Unveiled
The details emerged from a LinkedIn post by Nick Lombardi, co-founder of Streamforge, an influencer marketing firm.
According to Lombardi, Ubisoft shelled out $2.1 million to enlist creators across Twitch, YouTube, and TikTok, generating a staggering 179.4 million views.
Source: Nick Lombardi LinkedIn
Twitch dominated the budget, claiming 55%—roughly $1.08 million—with prominent streamer HasanAbi (Hasan Piker) reportedly pocketing $76,510, making him one of the campaign’s top earners. He's followed by IlloJuan, a Spanish YouTuber and Twitch streamer, yourragegaming, loltyler1, and PaymoneyWubby, who raked in a combined $276k.
Source: Nick Lombardi LinkedIn
While Ubisoft hasn’t confirmed these figures, they fit within industry norms: marketing budgets for AAA titles often range from 20% to 50% of development costs, suggesting Shadows’ total promotional spend could sit between $50 million and $150 million. At $2.1 million, the influencer push was a targeted sliver of that pie.
Why Influencers? The Strategy Explained
In today’s gaming landscape, streamers and content creators wield unmatched sway, offering authenticity and reach that traditional ads can’t match.
For Shadows, the strategy was a lifeline after a rocky road. First teased as “Codename Red” in September 2022, the game faced delays from November 2024 to February 2025, then finally to March, tacking on an extra €20 million in costs, per CEO Yves Guilllemot.
Ubisoft leaned hard into creative partnerships to rebuild buzz: a Red Bull parkour stunt in Japan, a Lo-fi Girl soundtrack remix, and a two-phase Twitch Drops campaign that rewarded viewers with in-game loot. These moves aimed to keep Shadows trending and its community engaged.
Public Reaction and Controversy
Not everyone’s on board. On Asmongold’s subreddit, a hub for vocal gaming fans, the reaction has been a mix of skepticism, outrage, and dark humor. HasanAbi’s involvement has drawn particular fire.
One user declared,
a jab at Hasan’s polarizing persona that racked up 87 upvotes.
Similarly, another user vented,
earning 144 upvotes and reflecting unease over his $76,510 payout.
And the replies just keep piling on.
On X (Twitter), the controversy takes on an even sharper edge, with Hasan’s sponsorship igniting a firestorm of criticism.
Posts on X reveal a mix of disdain and accusations, often tying his involvement to broader cultural and political divides. Elon Musk even called Piker a "sell-out," prompting the official Assassin's Creed X account to respond and "ratio" Musk.
Is that what the guy playing your Path of Exile 2 account told you?
— Assassin's Creed (@assassinscreed) March 25, 2025
Posts from other users are just as negative. An X account with 20k followers summarized it in a post.
Hasan has been farming that sponsorship money in the past week or so
Yesterday he worked with Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed so they made him post a tweet
The comments under that tweet were all pointing out his supposed hypocrisy
“Nothing says socialism like happily gargling… pic.twitter.com/OeZ4DKCHrx
— yeet (@Awk20000) March 20, 2025
Another user put the final nail in Ubisoft's coffin by posting a screenshot of the company's stock price.
It just keeps going down each day I see it now.
Was the clout of starting Twitter arguments and making so many marketing fumbles like the Hasan sponsorship, worth it Ubisoft? pic.twitter.com/LNgi8BtZZg
— Perma Banned (@GiveMeBanHammer) April 3, 2025
Ubisoft’s $2.1 million influencer push comes at a time when the company has lost all faith in gamers worldwide. From "horrific" layouts back in January to their former bosses being put on trial for sexual harassment, the endless sea of negative reactions from gamers and fans doesn't seem to go away.
Ubisoft’s track record hasn’t helped—recent years have delivered disappointing titles like Star Wars Outlaws (underwhelming sales), Skull and Bones (a long-delayed flop), and The Crew Motorfest (criticized for lackluster execution), amplifying distrust.
Against this backdrop, HasanAbi’s involvement has only fanned the flames, given the ethics in choosing him to be the leading influencer to promote the game.
A Million-Dollar Buzz or a Misstep in the Shadows?
Ubisoft’s $2.1 million influencer bet on Assassin’s Creed Shadows sparked buzz—179.4 million views don’t lie—but it’s mired in controversy. With HasanAbi’s polarizing role and a battered reputation from flops like Skull and Bones, the company’s gamble teeters between digital savvy and PR disaster. As stock slides and fans fume, was the clout worth the cost? Time will tell.
