Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones seems set to launch next month, with the developer releasing a new trailer on the end-game and Year 1 roadmap. The former sees players going against the Pirate Kingpins and venturing to The Helm to craft contraband.
16.01.2024 - 12:45 / ign.com / Philippe Tremblay / Ubisoft
An executive at Assassin’s Creed maker Ubisoft has said gamers will need to get “comfortable” not owning their games before video game subscriptions truly take off.
Speaking to discuss the launch of Ubisoft’s new Ubisoft+ Premium and Ubisoft+ Classics subscriptions, Philippe Tremblay, director of subscriptions at Ubisoft, explained to GI.biz what needs to happen before subscription services become a more significant slice of the video game business.
"I don't have a crystal ball, but when you look at the different subscription services that are out there, we've had a rapid expansion over the last couple of years, but it's still relatively small compared to the other models," Tremblay said.
"We're seeing expansion on console as the likes of PlayStation and Xbox bring new people in. On PC, from a Ubisoft standpoint, it's already been great, but we are looking to reach out more on PC, so we see opportunity there.
"One of the things we saw is that gamers are used to, a little bit like DVD, having and owning their games. That's the consumer shift that needs to happen. They got comfortable not owning their CD collection or DVD collection. That's a transformation that's been a bit slower to happen [in games]. As gamers grow comfortable in that aspect… you don't lose your progress. If you resume your game at another time, your progress file is still there. That's not been deleted. You don't lose what you've built in the game or your engagement with the game. So it's about feeling comfortable with not owning your game.
"I still have two boxes of DVDs. I definitely understand the gamers perspective with that. But as people embrace that model, they will see that these games will exist, the service will continue, and you'll be able to access them when you feel like. That's reassuring.
"Streaming is also a thing that works really well with subscription. So you pay when you need it, as opposed to paying all the time."
It’s fair to say Tremblay’s comments haven’t gone down well with some gamers who prefer to buy their video games on-disc as opposed to downloading them or streaming them. But it’s worth pointing out that Ubisoft, like many other video game publishers, does still release its games on-disc, and while digital sales have grown as a portion of overall sales over the years, a significant portion of players still prefer to own their games.
Tremblay’s comments also bring up the issue of video game preservation. As more games go down the digital route or rely upon an internet connection to work, so does the risk that these games are lost to time when their servers are shut down. Developer Remedy Entertainment was heavily criticised for releasing Alan Wake 2 as a digital-only video game to keep the price below $70.
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Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones seems set to launch next month, with the developer releasing a new trailer on the end-game and Year 1 roadmap. The former sees players going against the Pirate Kingpins and venturing to The Helm to craft contraband.
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The CEO of Larian Studios, Swen Vincke, has said that the developer has no intention to bring its titles to subscription services.
Earlier this week, Philippe Tremblay, Ubisoft’s director of subscriptions, made a comment in an interview stating how video game fans would need to get comfortable with not owning their games. Today, Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios’ CEO responded, calmly explaining his opinion that “direct from developer” is best.
The Baldur's Gate 3 creative director, Swen Vincke, stated that acquiring good video game content might be more challenging if subscriptions become the dominant model in the industry. The Baldur's Gate 3 creative director's comments were in response to recent statements from a Ubisoft executive who suggested that gamers may need to adjust to not owning their games as video game subscriptions gain popularity.
Larian CEO Swen Vincke has been reading Ubisoft director of subscriptions Philippe Tremblay's thoughts from yesterday about how players need to "get comfortable" with renting their games as a package, rather than "having and owning" an individual copy. His broad takeaway is: that ain't it, chief. In a social media thread today, Vincke wrote that "it's going to be a lot harder to get good content if subscription becomes the dominant model and a select group gets to decide what goes to market and what not". He feels that "direct from developer to players is the way". As such you shouldn't expect Baldur's Gate 3, Divinity: Original Sin 2 or any other Larian RPGs to join the Game Pass bandwagon anytime soon.
Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke has said that the studio's games won't ever be found on a subscription service because he wants «to make sure the other ecosystem doesn’t die.»
You won't find any Larian Studios games on a subscription service, said its CEO Swen Vincke.
A senior Ubisoft official suggested that gamers need to get comfortable not owning their games. The executive's perspective on the subject of game ownership, or lack thereof, arrived amid his company's latest digital push that saw Ubisoft make big changes to its subscription service.
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Ubisoft's director of subscriptions Philippe Tremblay has said that for all the growth of videogame subscription services in the past few years, players are still accustomed to "having and owning their games". Accordingly, he feels his task is to help you grow "comfortable" with the idea that the game you're playing might be taken offline as part of the release schedule, with Tremblay pointing out that you can still resume your save file when the game is next available.