Fine by me, so long as Ubisoft starts “feeling comfortable” with the fact that I nor anyone else should pay for their repetitive garbage by pirating them.
In a recent interview, Philippe Tremblay, Ubisoft’s Director of Subscriptions, extensively discussed the evolving landscape of our increasingly digital world. He provided insights into the current status and future developments of streaming services, with a specific focus on the recent adjustments made to the Ubisoft+ service, which has undergone a minor rebrand.
Tremblay mentioned that ‘millions’ of users have embraced Ubisoft’s cloud-based streaming service since its launch. He anticipates a growing number of users adopting subscription-based models in the future.
Emphasizing the inevitability of a consumer shift, he urged gamers to acclimate themselves to these services. Despite some users who wish to hold onto their physical games or retain true ownership over their purchases, Tremblay highlighted that a change in consumer behavior ‘needs to happen.’
Because of course it does, gaming has simply evolved to the point where they are either live service based or are an interactive movie with ballooning budgets with additional revenue becoming necessary to facilitate such costs. Be they microtransactions or an increased price tag of $70 and beyond.
Digitalization as a whole is cancerous, in theory it’s the best thing for us, however we don’t live in a perfect world rather we’re surrounded by immensely popular DRM store fronts that arbitrarily lock our games behind their platform, games going digital have only benefitted companies such as Ubisoft who now make a greater profit margin per game sale alongside companies such as Valve who make 30% off individual game sales by sitting on their fat arse.
With our modern digital age you don’t own anything, be it games on Steam, UPlay or Origin, the result always remains the same, you’re purchasing a license to access a digital product and nothing more, games can and will be delisted and forgotten due to licensing issues and your access to such content can and will be impacted because you said something naughty on the internet.
In recent years, the landscape of cloud gaming and subscription services has exploded. From platforms like PlayStation Now and Xbox Game Pass to services such as GeForce NOW and EA Play, the market is flooded with several options where users can pay a monthly fee to unlock an ever-changing array of games.
Just like bullshit such as Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu, Paramount and Disney+ these garbage subscription services might be “cheap” but over time the bills will undoubtedly rack up alongside the fact that you don’t own anything, the second your subscription ends is the day you lose access to everything.
Ubisoft recently refined its service, Ubisoft+, through a subtle rebrand. The primary offering is now recognized as ‘Ubisoft+ Premium,’ coexisting with other tiers like ‘Ubisoft+ Classics,’ which provides access to an assortment of back-catalog games but excludes the latest releases, it’s simply greedy tactics if we’re being honest.
More subscription offerings, cheaper or more expensive, equates to hopefully more individuals signing up, regardless during an interview with GamesIndustry, Philippe Tremblay discussed the utilization of Ubisoft+ and the evolving trends in consumer behavior:
There are multiple behaviors’. There are definitely a lot of people who come in for one game and then decide to buy it after the subscription ends. That’s part of the reality and that’s ok with us.
He highlighted the proposed ‘value’ of subscription services, underscoring that users of the Ubisoft+ Premium service gain immediate access to the latest games upon release, often obtaining the highest-tier version of those games as well.
Nevertheless, Tremblay indicated that there is still ample room for more gamers to join the fold:
One of the things we saw is that gamers are used to, a little bit like DVD, having and owning their games. That’s the consumer shift that needs to happen. They got comfortable not owning their CD collection or DVD collection.
That’s a transformation that’s been a bit slower to happen in games. As gamers grow comfortable in that aspect… you don’t lose your progress. If you resume your game at another time, your progress file is still there.
That’s not been deleted. You don’t lose what you’ve built in the game or your engagement with the game. So it’s about feeling comfortable with not owning your game.
It’s quite quaint but given how Ubisoft are one of the most notorious and greedy video game corporations on the planet it’s understandable how the company that purposefully withholds paid DLC content to those who’ve rightfully purchased them simply because they’ve shut down specific servers, such as how they just recently delisted 2014’s “The Crew”.
In the near future, Ubisoft is set to include Activision Blizzard games in its subscription-based service following a recent agreement with Microsoft for streaming rights.
As subscription services continue to claim greater revenue and market share in the gaming industry, I for one hope that this peaks and culminates in a delicious market crash for the entire video game industry given how the landscape in its entirety is shifting towards always online, live service titles that continue to inflate in cost.
