Ubisoft innovates subscription market with back catalog tier

Ubisoft fragments its subscription service with a new innovative pricing tier.

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In order to be successful, subscription services like Netflix, HBO Max, and even Xbox Game Pass need to fluidly adapt to change. We've seen practically every streaming service morph and shift over the years--Netflix went from ad-free viewing being a major selling point to offering a lower-cost subscription tier with ads built right in.

Now the multi-game subscription market is also adapting to change. This time, we're seeing subscriptions fragment their content offerings with new pricing schemes to match. Ubisoft is among the first to introduce this major new innovation to the video game subscription market with the goal of better matching consumers' content needs.

The company recently announced that it would splinter its Ubisoft+ subscription service into two parts:

• Classics $7.99/month - Play a selection of 50+ iconic games on PC
• Premium $17.99/month - Play 100+ games on PC, new releases Day 1 & early access when available, premium editions

This fragmentation is one of the most important new innovations for the subscription market. As companies invest billions into more content, the libraries swell, leading to less potential opportunities for the service to "match up" content with its subscribers. Incremental splintering allows services to better deliver targeted content that's aimed at specific players/consumers.

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For example, ad-tolerant consumers who subscribe to Netflix or HBO Max with ads may be more likely to tolerate advertisements in games. The idea would be to offer game time in exchange for watching a 60-second advertisement on consoles and/or PC, not unlike the mobile market.

Nintendo technically was the first to offer an exclusive back catalog subscription with its Switch Online and Switch Online + Expansion Pack services. These subs offer access only to older classic games from the past.

Microsoft has also incorporated its own forked version of this model with Xbox Game Pass Core. This subscription replaced Xbox LIVE Gold, offering the same price and the same multiplayer functionality while offering access to a handful of must-play back catalog games.

I believe Microsoft will also follow suit and further splinter Xbox Game Pass into a back catalog-only option that includes full access to older first-party titles from Xbox studios.