Ubisoft's Anno 1800 reaches 2.5 million players

Ubisoft revealed its city-builder strategy game Anno 1800 has reached 2.5 million players. The game originally released in 2019 and was referred to as the fastest-selling game in the franchise's 25-year history. 

In that same announcement, Ubisoft said that Anno 1800 would be released on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on March 16. The Anno series has previously been PC-exclusive, but executive producer Stéphane Jankowski said coming to consoles "is a real chance for us to let new players discover our award-winning game for the first time and join our amazing community."

Last week, Ubisoft's revealed that several of the publisher's 2022 games, including November's Mario+Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, failed to find an audience during the holiday season. There aren't hard numbers for Anno 1800 during that period, but regardless of its performance, bringing the game to consoles is a good way to boost the numbers.

Following that financial update, CEO Yves Guillemot called on Ubisoft staff to step up and deliver projects on time and in budget. In response to Guillemot's statement, members of the French workers union Solidaires Informatique called on Ubisoft Paris employees to go on strike, and demanded a 10 percent pay increase for all staff.

The console release of Anno 1800 marks the first 2023 release from Ubisoft, whose known high-profile releases for the year are Assassin's Creed Mirage and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, which were both previously delayed from 2022. Its pirate game Skull & Bones, originally planned for March 9, has been delayed to another unannounced date.