Gamers enraged at Ubisoft for injecting ads into the middle of video games

[DragonSlayer101]

WTF?! Ubisoft is reportedly injecting pop-up ads into the middle of video games, interrupting gameplay and enraging players who are taking to social media and message boards to vent their disapproval. It's not clear if this is a temporary experiment from the company or if it will become part and parcel of future Ubisoft titles.

According to posts on online forums, ads have made their way into real-time gameplay in Assassin's Creed Odyssey. One gamer who reported the problem was Redditor triddel24, who says an ad came up when they tried to go to the map to check their location. The complaint was posted on the Xbox One subreddit, suggesting they were playing the game on an Xbox console.

As shown on a post on X, the pop-up seems to advertise a 20 percent Black Friday discount on Ubisoft's new title, Assassin's Creed Mirage. By the looks of it, players have to manually close the ad by clicking on the 'Close' button in the bottom-left corner before they can continue with the game. It's not clear if there's any way to escape these ads, but disruptive practices like these could set up game studios for unseemly confrontations with their customers.

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

Is it possible Ubisoft is planning to expand this new 'feature' into other titles? That's hard to say for now, but it is already facing a massive backlash from the gaming community, with many blaming the company for ruining their gameplay experience with the experiment.

Most gamers appear to agree that promos about new games and other such content is slightly more tolerable on the main menu before the game starts, but there's no good reason for studios to insert ads in the middle of gameplay.

It is worth noting that in-game ads are very common in mobile games, but triple-A titles on consoles and PC have so far remained largely immune to this annoying phenomenon. Ads for new games and DLC are typically displayed in the main menus in console and PC titles, something that most gamers have come to begrudgingly accept.

However, going by gamers reaction on social media, it's unlikely that they will take this type of disruptive advertising lying down, so it remains to be seen whether Ubisoft will move forward with a new ad policy at the risk of alienating its customers, or if it will backtrack and apologize for the ill-advised strategy.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/100953-gamers-enraged-ubisoft-injecting-ads-middle-video-games.html

 

[gigantor21]

I'm surprised we don't see this more often from AAA developers, honestly.

Wouldn't be surprised if it becomes a trend. I'd hate it, but I wouldn't be surprised.

 

[VaRmeNsI]

It might have been somewhat acceptable if they gave you a special discount for being a loyal customer.

 

[VitalyT]

It's like subscribing to involuntary suppository meds.

 

[Plague]

A line has been crossed.
Once one of them has done it, all of them will follow suit.

 

[m4a4]

I'd expect some sort of off-hand banner on the main menu or something at the most (nothing that blocks me from playing without an extra input).
But wasting my time in a game that I bought by injecting it where it is? Yeah, that'll lead me to find a better, more convenient copy (if I ever want to buy and play such games).

 

[Manoa]

better, more convenient copy

I like this better more convenient copies

 

[takaozo]

I bet that cracked versions of the same game will not have this "new thing"...

 

[yRaz]

I bet that cracked versions of the same game will not have this "new thing"...

I was thinking the same thing. Considering that pirating games is often more convenient than trying to purchase them legally then they inject stuff like this months or years after you buy it? No......

 

[winjer]

One more good reason not to buy Ubisoft games.

 

[McMurdeR]

Especially the way it's implemented - to disrupt the gameplay experience like that.. not just disrespectful to the paying consumer, but also towards their own colleagues who have painstakingly designed an interactive experience.

 

[RudyBob]

Bad, very bad form

 

[Beerfloat]

Well if there's any publisher of 'AAA' titles that would be the first to try something obnoxious like this, it would be Ubisoft. I basically stopped buying their games after Asscreed Origins because the aggressive pushes to buy premium items and DLC and such all over the game's menus really cheapened the experience. Might just as well play outright freemium games if that's your bag.

 

[hahahanoobs]

Lol Shocker!

 

[poohbear]

Ya that would ruin the moment. A climactic or intense in-game moment interupted by an ad. No thanks.

 

[Uncle Al]

HAHAHA .... that removes UbiSoft from my future game purchases unless they want to pay ME to watch the ads. Nothing terrible, just $50 per viewing .... yeah, that works .....

 

[havok585]

Ubisoft shameless as always

 

[Theinsanegamer]

These GAMURZ deserve it. Imagine, after the DECADES of garbage products and atrocious behavior Ubisoft has given us, thinking that dumping $70+ on their newest copy paste "product". If all their past behavior isnt enough to ward you from their snake oil, you deserve to have ads shoved into your face, your older games taken away, and all the other stuff Ubisoft has and will do.

Let's stop blaming the corporation. It is the fault of CUSTOMERS, who buy this slop by the millions, that nothing is ever fixed.

 

[wiyosaya]

Advertising like this does not work. This is just another attempt at a money grab and advertisers wasting their money.

 

[Roxxas049]

Advertising like this does not work. This is just another attempt at a money grab and advertisers wasting their money.

Thing is the Ads are already paid for Ubisoft is just using this as the means of getting it to the "consumer". Ubisoft is already on my no buy list for other things so I'm not getting the pleasure of this new garbage they are pushing but honestly it does not surprise me. They are gutter trash.

 

[brucek]

It would be nice to read something positive about Ubisoft for once.

It would also be nice to read a story about gamers actually standing up for themselves such that Ubisoft noticed a sales decline next year. Unfortunately I'm pretty sure the story I'll actually be reading is that these same gamers who are complaining now will also have then clicked on the ad and bought whatever it was selling.

 

[Eldritch]

Infinite growth is required for corporations which is literally impossible as the number of consumers is finite.

They try to find a workaround by using methods like these (ads), cutting development costs, cutting QA, creating more paid DLC etc.

These companies eventually fail or get absorbed by a bigger corporation who hawks their IPs, manpower is mostly disposed off by the new owners and gradually the IPs become hated and die due to poor adaptations.

Point is these greedy companies die not with a bang but with a whimper.

 

[zavrix]

If they make the game free maybe but if I have to fork out $$$ for it I don't wont any adds, goodbye UBISHITE

 

[DubiousFishHook]

Why are content providers so out of touch with reality, do all of them run around with scarfs & a mocha mint frappe choko latte(?)

I don't like racism but could that group also be the one that utilize the Pander-Stone like in the recent South Park special where an alternate universe Cartman says "put a black woman in it & make her gay!!" over and over.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Why are content providers so out of touch with reality, do all of them run around with scarfs & a mocha mint frappe choko latte(?)

Unironically, yes. The elite have been huffing their farts for so long int heir ivory towers that they have lost any and all creative vision or commoner perspective. The rich and powerful have simultaneously no idea how the normal person feels, and every idea how they think, specifically how to exploit them for maximum profit. And so long as customers refuse to change their buying habits, content providers have no incentive to treat customers with respect.

I don't like racism but could that group also be the one that utilize the Pander-Stone like in the recent South Park special where an alternate universe Cartman says "put a black woman in it & make her gay!!" over and over.

Yes, they do. Remember the black and lesbian vikings in Valhalla? The marxist political messaging in far cry 6? Ubisoft jumped on the political train years ago; the reason so many got upset at that south park episode is because they NAILED it.