In a remarkable turn of events, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey has climbed to the highest Steam rating in the entire franchise, now sitting at 89% positive reviews. This milestone edges out Assassin’s Creed 2, which held a long-standing 86% approval, and the surge aligns almost perfectly with the release of Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster film “The Odyssey”. The game, once criticized for its radical departure from series traditions, is now experiencing an unexpected renaissance driven by a wave of new players inspired by the movie’s depiction of ancient Greece.
The Numbers Behind the Surge: From 4,000 to 89% Positive
This isn’t just a minor bump. The data shows a clear and sustained increase in both player activity and review sentiment. In July, shortly after Nolan’s film hit theaters, Steam concurrent players for Assassin’s Creed Odyssey jumped from around 4,000 to a peak of 8,522. That momentum has only grown. According to analytics from Alinea Analytics, combined daily active users across Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation rose from approximately 122,000 on the day of the movie’s release to 233,000 just ten days later — a 90% increase.
The review score rise is equally dramatic. The game’s all-time positive rating on Steam climbed from a middling 84% to 89%, surpassing the iconic Assassin’s Creed 2 by three percentage points. This is particularly notable because Assassin’s Creed 2 has been the gold standard for the series for over a decade, often cited as the definitive entry by long-time fans. To see Odyssey overtake it is a testament to the power of cultural cross-pollination and the shifting tastes of a new player base.
Why Nolan’s “The Odyssey” Sparked a New Wave of Players
Reports indicate that roughly 250,000 new players picked up Assassin’s Creed Odyssey specifically because of their interest in Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey”. After watching the film’s interpretation of Homer’s epic, many sought a more immersive, hands-on experience of ancient Greece. Odyssey‘s open world, which lets players explore the Aegean Sea, engage in the Peloponnesian War, and interact with mythological figures, provided exactly that.
This is a classic example of a media event driving game sales. The movie didn’t just remind people of the game’s existence; it created a new audience that had never played an Assassin’s Creed title before. These newcomers are not burdened by the franchise’s long-running lore or the expectations of older fans. They approach the game with fresh eyes, evaluating it on its own merits — a sprawling RPG with naval combat, branching dialogue, and a protagonist who is a mercenary rather than a hooded assassin.
The timing also helped. Odyssey is now eight years old, meaning it is frequently available at deep discounts. A player curious about ancient Greece could pick up the game and its “The Fate of Atlantis” DLC for a fraction of the cost of a new release. This accessibility, combined with the cultural cachet of the Nolan film, created a perfect storm that boosted both player counts and review scores.
Understanding the Shift: From Rocky Launch to Franchise Leader
It is important to remember that Assassin’s Creed Odyssey had a contentious launch in 2018. Long-time fans of the series pushed back against its heavy RPG mechanics, such as leveled gear, ability trees, and dialogue choices that affected the story. The stealth mechanics were softened, and the game replaced the traditional hooded assassin with a mercenary protagonist, Alexios or Kassandra, who could be either male or female. For purists, this felt like a betrayal of the series’ identity.
The initial reviews were mixed. On Steam, the game sat at around 80% positive for the first year, dragged down by complaints about microtransactions, grinding, and the lack of a cohesive assassin narrative. However, over time, a counter-narrative emerged. Players who valued the RPG elements and the vast, beautiful recreation of ancient Greece began to praise the game. The addition of the “Discovery Tour” mode, which turned the open world into a historical educational experience, further rehabilitated its reputation.
Now, with the influx of new players from the Nolan movie, the positive reviews have overwhelmed the negative ones. The people who disliked the game in 2018 have largely moved on, while the new audience is overwhelmingly positive. This is a classic example of a game being “rediscovered” and re-evaluated years after launch, a phenomenon seen with titles like No Man’s Sky and Cyberpunk 2077, though in those cases the developers actively patched and improved the game. Here, the game itself hasn’t changed much; the audience has.
What This Means for Ubisoft and the Assassin’s Creed Franchise
This free marketing boost is a windfall for Ubisoft. The company is currently preparing for the release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which is set in feudal Japan. While Shadows has faced its own controversies — including delays and criticism over historical accuracy — the renewed interest in Odyssey could spill over into the broader franchise. Players who enjoyed Odyssey may be more willing to try other entries, especially the newer RPG-focused titles like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and the upcoming Shadows.
However, there is a risk that this surge is temporary. Once the movie’s box-office run ends and the cultural conversation shifts, the player numbers may drop back to baseline. The game’s rating, however, is likely to remain elevated because Steam reviews are cumulative. The new positive reviews will permanently raise the overall score, even if the daily player count declines.
From a strategic perspective, this event underscores the importance of cultural relevance. Ubisoft could not have predicted that a Christopher Nolan film would revive an eight-year-old game, but the fact that Odyssey was the right game at the right time highlights the value of building a rich, historically immersive world. It also suggests that the RPG direction, which was so controversial at launch, may have been the correct long-term bet for attracting a broader audience.
Frequently Answered Questions: The Odyssey Revival
For readers looking for quick answers, here are the key facts about this development:
- What is the current Steam rating for Assassin’s Creed Odyssey? It now stands at 89% positive reviews, making it the highest-rated entry in the entire Assassin’s Creed franchise on Steam, surpassing Assassin’s Creed 2‘s 86%.
- How many new players were drawn to the game by Nolan’s “The Odyssey”? Reports suggest approximately 250,000 new players purchased the game specifically because of their interest in the film.
- When did the player spike first occur? The first significant jump in Steam concurrent players was observed in July, shortly after the movie’s theatrical release, with numbers rising from ~4,000 to a peak of 8,522.
- What was the combined player increase across all platforms? According to Alinea Analytics, daily active users across Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation rose from 122,000 on release day to 233,000 ten days later — a 90% increase.
- Why did the game have a rocky launch reputation? Long-time fans criticized the shift to heavy RPG mechanics, the removal of traditional stealth-centric gameplay, and the focus on mercenary protagonists instead of the classic hooded assassins.
This Q&A format is designed to provide a clear, concise answer for users searching for specific information, and it can be extracted as a featured snippet by search engines.
The Eight-Year-Old Game’s Redemption Arc
It is a strange twist of fate that a game which once represented a fracture in the Assassin’s Creed community is now the franchise’s most beloved entry on Steam. The redemption arc is not due to a dramatic overhaul or a No Man’s Sky-style update, but rather a shift in cultural context. The movie’s massive audience brought in a new cohort of players who never experienced the series’ past glory and thus had no expectations to be disappointed. They judged Odyssey on its own terms: a gorgeous, sprawling, and engaging RPG set in one of the most iconic periods of human history.
This phenomenon raises interesting questions about how we evaluate games over time. A game’s reputation is not static; it is shaped by the evolving demographics of its player base. The people who rate a game in 2018 are not the same people rating it in 2025. The new audience may be more receptive to RPG mechanics, or they may simply be less invested in the Assassin’s Creed brand identity. Either way, Odyssey has benefited from a generational shift in taste.
For Ubisoft, the lesson is clear: building a rich, historically evocative world can pay dividends long after the initial marketing campaign ends. The company may not be able to rely on a Christopher Nolan film every time, but the principle of creating a game that is both a time capsule and a playground for exploration is a durable one. Assassin’s Creed Shadows will likely try to replicate this magic, but it will have to do so without the serendipitous boost of a major Hollywood blockbuster.
As the movie’s box-office run inevitably winds down, the daily player numbers for Odyssey may eventually cool. But the game’s Steam rating is now permanently etched into the record books. It has achieved something that once seemed impossible: it has become the highest-rated entry in a franchise that includes the legendary Assassin’s Creed 2. That is a testament to the power of a well-timed cultural moment and the enduring appeal of ancient Greece.
