Ubisoft recently claimed that microtransactions can be a good way to make the player’s experience more fun in premium single-player games. This may be a controversial statement, which many people who play Ubisoft games will disagree with.
Microtransactions have become a reality of gaming in the 2020s. Despite their controversial nature, microtransactions continue to be rampant, particularly in free-to-play games. Reports from earlier this year indicated that 58% of the revenue made from PC games in 2024 was from microtransactions, with titles such as Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Roblox, and Fortnite leading in spending. In Ubisoft’s case, however, the publisher often adds microtransactions to its single-player games, too.
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Now, Ubisoft has revealed part of the reason why it continues to add microtransactions to premium games in its most recent annual financial report (spotted by GamesRadar). According to Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, microtransactions "make the player experience more fun" because players can "personalize their avatars or progress more quickly." The CEO also stressed that microtransactions are “always optional,” indicating that gamers who don't like them can just ignore them.
Ubisoft Defends Microtransactions as a Way for Gamers to Personalize Characters and Progress More Quickly
Guillemot’s perspective will certainly be criticized by some of Ubisoft’s fans. If the publisher was talking about free games, microtransactions would be somewhat more understandable, but many players do not want to keep paying for games they already bought. Previous examples of microtransactions, such as Assassin’s Creed Valhalla selling XP boosts, were met with huge backlash from the community. Similar criticism can often be found on social media, as gamers are largely not thrilled at microtransactions being added to single-player games.
It’s not hard to guess why Ubisoft continues to utilize microtransactions so often, as they have proven to be incredibly profitable. Microtransactions are likely a big part of the reason why Assassin’s Creed Valhalla earned over $1 billion for Ubisoft, for example.
In any case, gamers should not expect Ubisoft’s stance toward microtransactions in single-player premium games to change any time soon. Ubisoft currently has multiple games in development, such as the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake and Assassin’s Creed: Codename Hexe. Some of these titles are expected to have microtransactions in at least some way, regardless of whether they are single-player or multiplayer experiences. At least, the financial report indicates that Ubisoft is seeking to "set up a working group dedicated to monetization and the associated risks," which indicates that the publisher is concerned about scaring players away with too many microtransactions.
- Date Founded
- March 28, 1986
- Headquarters
- Saint Mandé, France
- CEO
- Yves Guillemot
- Subsidiaries
- Massive Entertainment, Ubisoft Paris, Ubisoft Quebec, Ubisoft San Francisco
- Known For
- Rainbow Six, Prince of Persia, Far Cry, The Crew