Ubisoft Says You're "Playing Fewer Games." No, We're Just Not Buying Broken Ones.

NewsOpinion
Written By NLM Team

This is a fascinating new spin on "it's not me, it's you."

A samurai, wearing dark traditional armor and a horned helmet, sits mounted on a horse overlooking a large castle town, bay, and forested mountains in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Ubisoft is ringing the alarm bell. In a new financial filing, the company is warning that its revenues are down and that "many new games are struggling to stand out." And why is this happening? Because "consumers are playing fewer games."

I had to read that last part twice. "Consumers are playing fewer games." What an incredible, self-serving, and absolutely wild way to interpret the current market.

Let's be crystal clear. People aren't playing fewer games. More people are playing more games than at any point in human history. What they're not doing is buying Ubisoft's specific brand of $70, 100-hour, buggy-at-launch, single-purchase bloatware. This isn't a problem with the consumer; it's a problem with the product.

The "Problem" Isn't the Players, It's the Price

Ubisoft's report is technically correct about what players are doing. They're moving to "subscription services, long-running Games As A Service titles, [and] Free to Play Games." But they've completely, willfully whiffed the "why."

Why would I, or any sane person, buy a broken, unfinished game for $70, $80, or god forbid the $120 "Gold" edition? Why would I pay a premium to be a beta tester for a year? I can just... wait. I can play the mountain of games in my backlog, and in 18 months, buy the "Complete Edition" of that same game, fully patched, with all the DLC, for $30.

This isn't some mysterious "change in taste." This is the consumer base finally getting smart. The value proposition for a new, full-price AAA game is completely broken. Ubisoft isn't mad that we stopped playing games; they're mad that we started doing math.

The Indie and AA Revolution They're Ignoring

The other, massive part of the equation that Ubisoft's filing conveniently ignores is everything else. The competition isn't just Fortnite and Game Pass. The competition is the entire, booming, "fucking blooming" indie and AA scene.

For the price of one new Ubisoft game, I can buy Arc Raiders, a fantastic indie like Repo Man, and still have enough cash left over for a great, discounted single-player game from a few years ago. I get more variety, more complete experiences, and more respect for my time and my wallet.

Why would I spend 80 hours ticking off icons on a map in Star Wars Outlaws when I can have four different, unique, and finished experiences for the same price? The competition isn't just other live-service games. It's everything that offers a better, more focused, and more stable experience for my money.

This Isn't (Entirely) an Anti-Ubisoft Rant

Look, this isn't just me screaming at the Ubisoft punching bag, even though they make it so easy. I'm not blind. I had a genuinely good time with Assassin's Creed Shadows. Anno 1800 is a masterpiece of a city-builder. They have some of the most talented developers in the world who are absolutely capable of making brilliant games.

The problem is the corporate machine around those games. It's the suffocating assumption that every title has to be a "AAAA" blockbuster, a 100-hour map-clearer, a GaaS-lite, premium-priced product.

And the funniest part? They're failing at the very GaaS market they're blaming! Their attempts to crack it have been one disaster after another. XDefiant was a mess, and The Division: Heartland was mercy-killed before it ever saw the light of day. They're failing at the old model and the new one.

The Industry Is Changing, Not Dying

So yes, Ubisoft is in a bad spot. They had to halt stock trading last week. Star Wars Outlaws was a financial disappointment. They are clearly, deeply struggling. But to turn around and blame the customer for this is just pathetic.

The industry isn't dying. It's not even shrinking. It's specializing. The bloated, "one-size-fits-all" AAA model is collapsing under its own, $500-million-budget weight. Players are smarter now. We're flocking to the two poles: the massive, free (or cheap) live-service ecosystems, and the small, high-quality, focused indie/AA titles.

The "release it broken, patch it later, charge full price" model is what's on the slab. Ubisoft just happens to be the loudest one complaining at the funeral.

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NLM Team
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