Ubisoft Reportedly Interrupting Gameplay With Pop-up Ads For New Games

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Avinash Jaisrani

At Tech4Gamers, I contribute as a News Reporter, combining my skills and gaming enthusiasm to keep our audience updated on the latest developments.

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Update:

Ubisoft claims this pop-up was unintended and showed up due to a technical error. The issue has been addressed, and users should be able to enjoy uninterrupted gameplay from now on.

Original Story:

Ubisoft may be planning to introduce a new form of advertisements in its games. While it has become common for studios to advertise new games and content in the main menu of a game, these ads don’t typically interrupt gameplay.

However, as reported by Fab_XS on Twitter, ads have made their way into real-time gameplay in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. The user’s latest tweet shows a pop-up for Assassin’s Creed Mirage during gameplay.

Why it matters: Advertisements like these run the risk of breaking the flow of gameplay and pushing customers away from said games.

Il semble qu'Ubisoft expérimente la publicité en jeu chez certains utilisateurs (Xbox et PS).

Vous êtes au milieu de votre jeu, accédez à la pause ou à la Map et vous avez pendant 3sec. une pub pour un autre jeu qui s'affiche. Suffisant pour désinstaller ? 😅 pic.twitter.com/m5S4rEXas5

— Fab ✨ (@Fab_XS_) November 23, 2023

It is understandable that Ubisoft wants to advertise the recently released Assassin’s Creed Mirage. The game is currently going through its first major sale, and launch results are encouraging after it outsold Spider-Man 2 in the UK.

Therefore, the company is likely hoping to capitalize on this promotion for even better results. However, the practice of advertising games may be getting out of hand if this is the future lying ahead.

As seen in the Tweet, when pausing Assassin’s Creed Odyssey to access the game’s map, the player was hit with an ad for Assassin’s Creed Mirage that stayed on the screen for a few seconds.

Another user on the platform recalled a similar experience in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Interestingly, in this case, the user had already purchased the title being advertised.

In the past, Ubisoft has been scrutinized for its microtransaction practices. With excessive monetization and XP booster packs, the publisher received outrage during the early days of its RPG trilogy.

However, if this trend of pop-up ads will be the norm moving forward, the microtransactions might seem tame by comparison. Some have also speculated that the ad may have been caused by a bug.

Still, this does not make it any less infuriating.

Previously, Capcom experimented with a similar concept in Street Fighter 5. The publisher added advertisements during transitions between loading screens, but they could be disabled through an in-game toggle.

Since this decision was already unpopular for Capcom, it will be disappointing if Ubisoft decides to go this route for its games moving forward. 

Avinash Jaisrani

[News Reporter]

Avinash is currently pursuing a Business degree in Australia. For more than three years, he has been working as a gaming journalist, utilizing his writing skills and love for gaming to report on the latest updates in the industry. Avinash loves to play action games like Devil May Cry and has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as IGN, GamesRadar, GameRant, Dualshockers, CBR, and Gamespot.