Ubisoft actually believes microtransactions make their games more fun

Ubisoft is known for having microtransactions even in its single-player games, which is a decision that many gamers aren't very fond of at all, as it reads as a money-grab tactic that, in some cases, can feature pay-to-win elements.

4

In Ubisoft's annual financial report, we got an insight into the mentality the company has when implementing "monetization strategies" into its premium games, which would be its mainline titles, such as Assassin's Creed. The report states that Ubisoft has a "golden rule" when developing premium games, and that is to enable players to enjoy the game in full without having to spend more money on it.

Additionally, Ubisoft says, "Our monetization offer within premium games makes the player experience more fun by allowing them to personalize their avatars or progress more quickly". Adding, "however, this is always optional." The second to last point is certainly the most contentious, "or progress more quickly." This would be a pay-to-win mechanic that is typically built into all of Ubisoft's premium games, even its single-player titles.

4

In purely free-to-play games, this is less of an offense, as the game has to somehow make some money for it to be sustainable, but in single-player titles where the gamer has already paid the sticker price for the title, these monetary practices are viewed by many as pay-to-win shortcuts.

While Ubisoft gives itself plausible deniability by stating that weapons/gear of the same value can be obtained in the world by the player completely free (just takes time to get them), it doesn't recognize that to players who aren't ever going to spend more than the sticker price of the game, these optional purchases are then simply ads directed at players that aren't interested in buying them. This means, at the very least, that a player who has already purchased the game is now being shown advertisements in their single-player game that they cannot remove.

4

I would like to know the percentage of players who purchased Assassin's Creed: Shadows and made one of these optional purchases, versus the percentage of players who didn't. I would think the percentage of players who didn't was far greater than those who did. Whatever that percentage of non-optional purchasing players may be, I would love to know if they would agree that advertisements in their single-player game made the "player experience more fun" or not. My bet would be the latter.

Ubisoft's statement, while directed at investors, reveals the company's perception of its microtransaction offerings throughout its titles. By the company's own admission, it actually believes these microtransactions make its games "more fun."