Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is sailing to the top of the box office, and while it could soon be dethroned by Spider-Man: Brand New Day swinging into action, the fact that the historical epic has already made over $700 million in less than two weeks means it’s well on the way to cracking $1 billion.
With Nolan’s impressive CV including everything from Inception to Interstellar and the Dark Knight trilogy, it looks like The Odyssey is another certified banger. This record-breaking win comes despite a vocal minority complaining about the casting of the transgender Elliot Page, as well as Elon Musk branding Nolan an ‘anti-White racist’ because he cast Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy.
The Odyssey is everywhere right now, and not just because of viral clips of cinemagoers being tossed around like rag dolls in the movie’s 4DX screenings. Even though there’s no Barbenheimer trend to enjoy, it seems The Odyssey is funnelling video game fans to a beloved title from 2018.
Assassin’s Creed Odysseyenjoys The Odyssey‘s success
According to Alinea Analytics analyst Rhys Elliot, The Odyssey‘s box office takeover has pushed thousands of players to pick up their swords and once again stride into battle for Assassin’s CreedOdyssey.
Ubisoft’s 2018 title charted a mythological history of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, putting you in the golden armor of a male or female Spartan mercenary (Alexios or Kassandra).
The eleventh mainline entry in the AC series also continued the arc of Layla Hassan. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey was already a hit, selling over 10 million copies within two years and setting franchise records for player engagement and live-service revenue.
Taking to X, Elliot notes that Assassin’s Creed Odyssey has nearly doubled its daily active users on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC with Steam picking up a 26% boost, while PlayStation nearly doubled its DAUs to 114,00
There’s been a particular boost on Xbox, with active users reportedly leaping 134% from 36,00 to 84,000.
Musing about the boost, Elliot explained: “Because AC Odyssey is on both Game Pass and PS Plus, many curious moviegoers faced zero financial friction to start playing. Lapsed fans jumped straight back in, while new players found a 60+ hour Greek epic waiting inside a subscription they already pay for.”
Given that we named Assassin’s Creed Odyssey in our list of video games to play if you enjoyed Nolan’s movie, is it any real surprise that players are dashing to this fellow epic?
Tie-in movie video games aren’t so much of a thing anymore, and like plans were canned for a tie-in game to The Dark Knight, you won’t be able to play a pixelated version of Matt Damon’s Odysseus.
What’s next for Assassin’s Creed
It’s fair to say that the Assassin’s Creed IP has traversed some rough seas since Odyssey‘s release, withAssassin’s Creed Valhalla being perfectly ‘fine’ and there being a particular backlash against 2025’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
More than this, Ubisoft itself has come under repeated fire, and the franchise in general has been called out for a move away from its stealth origins and evolution into being repetitive action-RPGs.
There’s no sign of things slowing down, and thankfully, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced has somewhat restored our faith that the developer knows what it’s doing with the series.
Alongside the mobile Assassin’s Creed Jadeand Assassin’s Creed Invictus as a mysterious PvP multiplayer, Assassin’s Creed Hexepromises to be a more intimate affair that goes back to the franchise’s roots as we visit the 17th-century European witch trials.
If you haven’t played Assassin’s Creed Odyssey before, and want to brush up on your Greek mythology either before or after The Odyssey, there couldn’t be a better time than now.
Featured Image Credit: Universal Pictures
