Ubisoft has tons of games out in the market and most of them are now available via the Ubisoft+ subscription service. Likewise, in a recent interview, Chris Early, Ubisoft’s SVP of strategic partnerships and business development stated that physical games will never go away completely but will start to decline in the near future. That is also part of the reason why the subscription-based models erected by Microsoft and Sony are so successful right now. Following in their footsteps, Ubisoft has changed their subscription model up as well.
Ubisoft Praises Subscription-Based Services, Claims They Have Tremendous Potential
Subscription-based services have been all the rage for quite a while now, not just in gaming but in other media too. Amazon Audible, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Xbox Game Pass, and PS Plus are just some subscription models that are dominating the market. It gives users the ability to access most of the content in their respective worlds without having the responsibility of owning the piece of content themselves.
This ensures that they can try out as many content pieces as they want as long as they are subscribed. Ubisoft, seeing the success of these models in the market is swiftly bolstering their already successful subscription service to make it simpler for users. To emphasize the importance of the subscription model, Philippe Tremblay talked about how it is easier to own a subscription rather than physical titles.
What Philippe Tremblay Said about Physical Games and Subscription Services
Philippe Tremblay is the director of subscriptions at Ubisoft and he informed GamesIndustry.biz about the success of Uplay ever since its introduction way back in 2019. He told the media house that at least 10% of the subscribers hadn’t played Ubisoft’s games before which ensured that it was a success upon release. In addition, Ubisoft has plans to launch more subscription offers for its consumers.
He also iterated that it is important to give players a choice. Ubisoft offers both the purchase of the game and the subscription, “it’s the gamer’s preference that is important here,” he said. Buying games is still a huge market in comparison to Subscription models. However, Tremblay states that there is a huge upside to customers developing the habit of not owning games they play through subscriptions.
Tremblay also talked about the rapid expansion of the subscription-based model in the past few years and how it is growing every year. Gamers primarily select both of the models for gaming. They also subscribe to services and buy games they like. None of the industries are going away anytime soon.
Another reason why Philippe Tremblay likes subscriptions is because they don’t lose their progress. They can resume anytime they want even if they uninstall the game.
The New Ubisoft+ Subscription Model
The new Ubisoft+ Subscription is quite simpler than their previous ones. Previously, Ubisoft had Ubisoft+ Multi-Access and PC Access which was confusing for a lot of subscribers. Fortunately, with the release of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, they have revamped the model. Now, both of the previous subscriptions have been combined into one which is now the Ubisoft+ Premium. There is also a Classic edition but with lesser benefits.
For simplicity, the Ubisoft+ Premium currently has 140+ titles while the Classics Catalog only has 46. Although, those 46 ones are really good ones including Rainbow Six Seige, Far Cry 6, Watch Dogs Legion, Immortals: Fenyx Rising, and Tom Clancy’s The Division 2. Combining everything in two simple models was a genius idea that would make it better for both the subscribers and Ubisoft. Eventually, the Call of Duty franchise will make its way to Ubisoft as well.
It is a good subscription to invest in as newer Ubisoft projects are coming out every year.
