Ubisoft to make compulsory DLC free for all

[Shawn Knight]

Premium DLC has long been the bane of gamers, especially if it’s the type that’s borderline necessary in order to experience the core game the way it was meant to be played. Fortunately for gamers, developer Ubisoft has recently come to this same realization and is doing something about it.

In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Anne Blondel-Jouin, Ubisoft’s VP of live operations, said they are now looking to support games for between five to 10 years after launch. To keep players engaged and avoid fragmentation, she said the studio has to be very careful with how it handles in-game monetization (microtransactions).

That said, Blondel-Jouin outlined changes that Ubisoft is making to its DLC policy. In short, they’re permanently doing away with DLC that you’d normally have to buy to get the full experience (think new maps and game modes).

The executive compared their vision for DLC with that of an amusement park.

The price of admission (the game) includes access to all of the park’s rides. Optionally, you can visit the park’s various shops and eateries to buy merchandise or food (skins, characters, attire, etc.). Regardless of whether or not you spend money in the shops, you’re still participating in the overall experience.

Premium DLC has been heavily criticized by gamers for years. While some view it in the same light as Ubisoft, others believe content like extra maps and additional modes should have been included with the core game or was intentionally left out at launch in order to milk more money from gamers down the road. What’s more, some implementations give paying players unfair advantages which essentially ruins the game for those that don't want to cough up extra money.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/67145-ubisoft-make-compulsory-dlc-free-all.html

 

[oldikes]

Not many people really ever criticized DLC. they criticized clearly intentionally leaving content out of the game just to sell later.

No one has a problem with the witcher 3 expansions. they would have had witcher 3 been missing content and the DLC only added what was missing. star wars battlefront is a great example of this; and now that you can get the game and all the DLC for under $30 is it finally worth the buy.

Id rather pay for GOOD and EXTRA CONTENT dlc than have microtransactions, even just cosmetic ones, in my game.

 

[wiyosaya]

Let's hope they are successful with this and that it serves as a future model for other similar restrictions.

 

[BlueDrake]

If this really pans out for Ubisoft it might have others thinking about it, because many often throw map packs and the like together as future DLC. Simply because they can't be rushed for one reason or another, but usually a lot of times that's then used to make some extra cash out of players. It's split communities to the point of it can really make games rather fragmented, I hope if this pans out properly it might get players pushing other companies to do the same.

Personally I'd wish they'd do away with the secrecy of season passes, and state up front what could be potentially the size of content. Not just throw in some small extras and maybe a character / map pack as part of it and then call it a day. Sometimes a season pass gets a good portion of content, other times it's literally feeling like nothing and it can be a good $25-30+ on top of the base game sometimes. Leaving that vague space there is a danger to consumers, who feel almost compelled to buy it simply for the sake of not being left out.

 

[bmw95]

Not many people really ever criticized DLC. they criticized clearly intentionally leaving content out of the game just to sell later.

No one has a problem with the witcher 3 expansions. they would have had witcher 3 been missing content and the DLC only added what was missing. star wars battlefront is a great example of this; and now that you can get the game and all the DLC for under $30 is it finally worth the buy.

Id rather pay for GOOD and EXTRA CONTENT dlc than have microtransactions, even just cosmetic ones, in my game.

exactly, well said!

 

[21Savage]

DLC's are garbage and all they do is separate the player base, especially online multiplayer games like Battlefront, Battlefield and or Call of Duty. They should make DLCs free as to keep the player base going and to excite new players to buy the game. That is all.

As for comparing DLCs to what Witcher 3 did, those are not DLCs but full fledged expansions to the game. My point being that map packs are different than single player scripted content.

Please, please stop with the damn DLCs and thank you UbiSoft!

 

[EndlessWaves]

Now if Ubisoft were to stop shipping the UPlay adware with their games I might start buying them again. I play games to relax, I don't want to be advertised at every time I close one.