Ubisoft Defends Microtransactions in Assassin's Creed Shadows
The game's post-launch content wouldn't be possible without them, according to Associate Game Director Simon Lemay-Comtois.
Say what you want about Ubisoft – if their games don't entertain you, their statements certainly will.
After blessing us with the "gamers should get comfortable not owning their games" gem in 2024, and more recently blaming its declining revenues on gamers playing fewer games, the troubled studio is once again trying to defend the indefensible, this time arguing in favor of microtransactions of all things.
Discussing the recent Isu update for Assassin's Creed Shadows, which added a lengthy new quest expanding the AC lore, Associate Game Director Simon Lemay-Comtois addressed a common criticism the game receives, that being the presence of an in-game shop in a fully-priced $70 AAA single-player release.
In his response, Lemay-Comtois defended the practice by saying that "the Isu stuff, the quest stuff, the parkour updates, all of it" is made possible by microtransactions, which somewhat implies the game's sales alone couldn't cover the cost of post-launch content – a self-own if I've ever seen one.
He further added that the Isu update wasn't planned in advance and was entirely a "post-launch decision," suggesting that even if Shadows sold poorly – we still don't know its sales numbers to this day – it was partially propped up by revenue from players buying cosmetics and mounts, explaining Ubisoft's optimism about the latest Assassin's Creed installment.
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