- Ubisoft sparked widespread backlash after claiming microtransactions in single-player games make the experience "more fun".
- The publisher stated that microtransactions make games more enjoyable by allowing players "to personalize their avatars or progress more quickly."
- The claim attracted unanimous criticism from the community, with gamers calling out Ubisoft for its shoddy practices.
Thanks to an abysmal track record of tone-deaf comments and a subpar understanding of player expectations, AAA gaming publishers receive online wedgies almost every day. There isn’t one, all-encompassing company that deserves all the blame, of course, as it seems like publishers take turns being panned by the community. In recent months, we have seen EA, Xbox, and Gearbox draw the community’s ire for ill-advised statements and comments, and joining them is a usual suspect in Ubisoft.
In the French publisher’s latest financial report, Ubisoft brazenly claimed that stuffing premium, single-player games with microtransactions makes the experience “more fun.”
The report read, “At Ubisoft, the golden rule when developing premium games is to allow players to enjoy the game in full without having to spend more. Our monetization offer within premium games makes the player experience more fun by allowing them to personalize their avatars or progress more quickly, however, this is always optional.“
If you’ve played any Assassin’s Creed post the franchise’s RPG-pivot, you’ll know exactly what the “monetization” looks like. The in-game store is chock-full of items to speed up progression and reduce the need for player discovery, alongside an assortment of cosmetic outfits. While this approach is acceptable in a free-to-play game, shoving it into a full-priced product, listed at $70 no less, is less than desirable.
What’s more concerning is the effect this has on the games themselves. Starting with Origins and leading into Odyssey, Valhalla, and Shadows (review), Assassin’s Creed titles have turned into grind-a-thons that pack their gorgeous open worlds with mind-numbing cookie-cutter content. The actual good stuff is often level-gated, requiring players to trudge through hours of repetitive mediocrity, gathering miserly amounts of XP in the process, just to unlock the story content they actually paid for in the first place.
If the genuine intention was to make games “more fun,” I’d suggest removing the laborious grind that nudges players towards splashing money to make the ‘fun’ come sooner. But hey, what do I know?
As you would imagine, the comments caused quite a stir among gamers online, and the general sentiment was sour, to say the least. In a post shared on the r/nottheonion subreddit (rather fittingly), users minced no words in expressing their annoyance.
One player stated, “No, they (microtransactions) don’t and they never did. But of course, one of the worst perpetrators of this chicanery would say that.” In a sharp response to Ubisoft’s comments, another player said, “Not buying Ubisoft’s games is also really fun.” A commenter also took the opportunity to remind everyone of another audacious claim from Ubisoft: “Isn’t this the same company that said Outlaws underperformed because Star Wars is a bad franchise now?”
While that sums up the mood online, what are your thoughts on Ubisoft’s wild claims? Be sure to let us know in the comments.
