Following Ubisoft’s extensively criticized disbanding of the Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown staff, the publishing director of Baldur’s Gate 3 has taken to X/Twitter so as to add his view, saying that Ubisoft’s publishing technique “simply is not smart.”
In a put up noticed by PC Gamer, Michael Douse stated of Ubisoft that the final “notable sport” on its platform (the Ubisoft retailer) was “arguably Far Cry 6 in 2021.”
“The Crew, Mirage and Avatar got here in 2023 and didn’t carry out, so you may assume subscriptions had been at a lull when PoP launched by 2024. Which suggests folks wouldn’t be launching their retailer all an excessive amount of.
“If it had launched on Steam not solely would it not have been a market success, however there would possible be a sequel as a result of the staff are so sturdy. It’s such a damaged technique. The toughest factor is to make a 85+ [review score] sport — it’s a lot, a lot simpler to launch one. It simply shouldn’t be accomplished because it was.”
The final notable sport on their platform was arguably Far Cry 6 in 2021. The Crew, Mirage and Avatar got here in 2023 and didn’t carry out, so you may assume subscriptions had been at a lull when PoP launched by 2024. Which suggests folks wouldn’t be launching their retailer all an excessive amount of.
If it… https://t.co/uiC167uxGG
— Very AFK (@Cromwelp) October 23, 2024
Douse is probably going referring right here to the truth that at launch, The Misplaced Crown required gamers to have a Ubisoft Join account to play it on most platforms. Although there are workarounds, Ubisoft has pushed its personal account, launcher, retailer, and subscription service pretty closely over the past a number of years. What’s extra, on PC, The Misplaced Crown was solely accessible at launch by way of the Ubisoft retailer or by way of the Epic Video games Retailer. It did not make it to Steam till eight months later.
As for the efficiency of The Crew Motorfest, Murderer’s Creed: Mirage, and Avatar: Frontier of Pandora, Douse could be proper. Ubisoft has been remarkably quiet and obscure as to how nicely these three video games have accomplished since their launches, and third-party experiences point out not one of the three had been the smash hits Ubisoft has wanted for some time now to proper its ship.
However Douse continues:
“If the assertion ‘players ought to get used to not proudly owning their video games’ is true due to a particular launch technique (sub above gross sales), then the assertion ‘builders should get used to not having jobs in the event that they make a critically acclaimed sport’ (platform technique above title gross sales) can also be true, and that simply isn’t smart — even from a enterprise perspective.”
If the assertion “players ought to get used to not proudly owning their video games” is true due to a particular launch technique (sub above gross sales), then the assertion “builders should get used to not having jobs in the event that they make a critically acclaimed sport” (platform technique above title gross sales) is…
— Very AFK (@Cromwelp) October 23, 2024
Right here, Douse is referring to a press release made by Ubisoft govt Philippe Tremblay earlier this yr, the place he stated: “One of many issues we noticed is that players are used to, slightly bit like DVD, having and proudly owning their video games. That is the patron shift that should occur. They received comfy not proudly owning their CD assortment or DVD assortment. That is a metamorphosis that is been a bit slower to occur [in games]. As players develop comfy in that side… you do not lose your progress. If you happen to resume your sport at one other time, your progress file continues to be there. That is not been deleted. You do not lose what you’ve got constructed within the sport or your engagement with the sport. So it is about feeling comfy with not proudly owning your sport.”
Douse’s level, then, is that Ubisoft appears to be making it part of its technique to pressure subscriptions over making an attempt to promote items of particular person video games. And if that is the case, it additionally appears to be the case that it’s going to prioritize that very same technique over builders being employed – which Douse finds to not be “smart.”
This is not the primary time Douse has commented on the industry-wide development of layoffs and studio closures that is continued over the past a number of years. Earlier this yr, he referred to as the mass layoffs “an avoidable f*ck up.” And Larian studio head Sven Winke has additionally condemned the development, saying in an interview with us earlier this yr that “it is the mistaken factor for video games.”
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You will discover her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Obtained a narrative tip? Ship it to rvalentine@ign.com.
