Ubisoft to tackle ‘polarized’ comments as part of its new strategy

Ubisoft

Ubisoft reaffirmed its efforts to move toward a much player-centric strategy for its games, while announcing that it’s looking person into “polarized” comments aimed astatine Ubisoft developers and games.

The patient and developer has been internally moving connected changing immoderate long-standing Ubisoft merchandise traditions involving play passes, early entree for definite preorders, and launching PC games connected its ain level up of ones for illustration Steam. It’s already released Assassin’s Creed Mirage and Star Wars Outlaws connected Steam since its original announcement, which progressive delaying nan upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows from November to February to guarantee it’s polished.

“Despite caller setbacks, we are continuing to profoundly toggle shape Ubisoft successful bid to reconstruct nan level of productivity and invention that built Ubisoft’s occurrence while delivering stronger execution and predictability,” CEO Yves Guillemot said successful a press release up of nan company’s first-half of fiscal twelvemonth 2025 financial call. “To succeed, we must redouble our attraction connected execution and reenforce a player-centric mindset successful everything we do.”

Guillemot added that theses efforts see “tackling nan dynamics down polarized comments astir Ubisoft truthful arsenic to protect nan Group’s estimation and maximize our game’s income potential.”

The CEO doesn’t specify which ones, but location has been a batch of anger online directed toward developers moving connected Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The backlash has concerned nan inclusion of humanities Black samurai Yasuke arsenic 1 of nan main characters, among different things.

When asked astir his thoughts connected nan video crippled manufacture correct now successful an interview connected nan Ubisoft website, Guillemot pointed to “malicious and individual online attacks” directed astatine Ubisoft labor and partners.

“I want to make it clear that we, astatine Ubisoft, condemn these hateful acts successful nan strongest imaginable terms, and I promote nan remainder of nan manufacture and players to denounce them, too,” he said.

The institution besides confirmed connected that Star Wars Outlaws did so execute worse than expected, and is moving connected fixes to amended nan game’s quality. It’s already released immoderate hotfixes and updates to make stealth much enjoyable, for example.

The astir profitable Ubisoft franchises proceed to beryllium Assassin’s Creed and Rainbow Six Siege, though nan second continues to do fantabulous numbers that are still growing. Rainbow Six Siege has topped 3.5 cardinal euros successful revenue, putting it only down nan Assassin’s Creed series. Live work games mostly do good for nan company, pinch The Crew franchise being a peculiar standout pinch 8 cardinal progressive players complete nan past 3 months.

Oddly enough, location is very small mention of Skull and Bones, Ubisoft’s open-world pirate RPG that released earlier this year, and really it performed. The institution did corroborate that nan game’s 4th play will beryllium released by nan extremity of 2024. That said, it did yet merchandise an NFT crippled (thanks IGN) aft announcing it would beryllium investing successful blockchain technology. It released NFT level Quartz successful 2021 and launched its first NFT cosmetics successful Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, though it ended support months later. The caller crippled is called Champions Tactics, and it launched to small fanfare this week. There’s nary mention of NFTs, blockchain, aliases web3 successful Ubisoft’s financial study either.