The newest update to the PlayStation 5 has quietly made a change to the console's anti-cheat system, disabling compatibility for Cronus software on the platform. With the popularity of competitive online games, many developers have continued to become more aggressive with anti-cheat measures, both in games and on consoles. Many developers like Ubisoft and Riot Games have created their own proprietary anti-cheat system for games like Rainbow Six: Siegeand Valorant. Now, a new update from Sony is looking to address a prominent software frequently used for cheats on the PS5.
The new Ubisoft+ and getting gamers comfortable with not owning their games
15.01.2024 - 17:45 / gamesindustry.biz / Rainbow VI (Vi) / Philippe Tremblay / Ubisoft
Ubisoft has rebranded its subscription offering and introduced a new service for PC players.
Ubisoft's main all-singing, all-dancing subscription offering has been rebranded Ubisoft+ Premium. This service is the one that features all new releases such as this week's Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (which is available early to subscribers). It costs $17.99 and is accessible via PC, Xbox and Amazon Luna.
In addition, the firm is adding Ubisoft+ Classics on PC. The Classics option was already available to PlayStation players and features back catalogue games like Far Cry 6 and Rainbow Six: Siege for $7.99 a month.
"We looked at the consumer behaviour and how people were interacting with our offer and we saw an opportunity for us to evolve," explains Philippe Tremblay, director of subscriptions at Ubisoft.
"When we look at how gamers engage with our different games, we see that our back catalogue is still very active and alive. So we saw an opportunity to offer these worlds to our consumers for a lower fee. And this is a response to the behaviour that we saw from players."
Tremblay says that the company has seen 'millions' of subscribers over the last four years, who have collectively played over half a billion hours of gameplay. Some sign-up to trial one game for a month or two, while others come in, stick around and play numerous titles.
"There are multiple behaviours," he explains. "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."
Ubisoft+ Premium's price point exceeds, in some cases, what Xbox and PlayStation charge for their services. Some of this will be to do with the business realities behind putting brand new AAA games into a subscription service, but Tremblay believes the cost is reasonable considering what's on offer.
"We're talking day one releases, and with games like Prince of Persia, you get early access. We already have Avatar, Assassin's Creed: Mirage… all of these games are available to play. That's tremendous value already. And then there's the catalogue, too. Thousands of dollars of games.
"And you don't just get access to these games, you get the premium editions. So it's all the added content that comes with that. We have rewards, too. And one of the big advantages with Ubisoft+ is that you get to play these across multiple devices. From one subscription, you can access our titles through PC, Xbox and Amazon Luna."
There's a lot of debate around subscription in video games. Today, the business model is the dominant way of paying for TV, film and music, but that's not currently the case in this industry. Games are typically much longer, many of them are free or feature some
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