Ubisoft sees significant room for expansion in the subscription services market and imagines a time when gamers would get accustomed to not purchasing games outright, much like they do with music, movies, and TV shows. The gaming behemoth renamed its Ubisoft+ subscription service on Monday, a strategic move that also included the introduction of a new PC option.
Priced at $17.99 a month, Ubisoft+ Premium caters to PC, Xbox, and Luna users, giving exclusive day-one access to new releases, an extensive library of titles and DLC, early entry to select games, and more. Moreover, PC gamers can now access Ubisoft+ Classics, which was previously only available to PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium users, for a monthly price of $7.99. This curated collection of classic titles is available to PC gamers as well.
Ubisoft's Director of Subscriptions Philippe Tremblay revealed to GamesIndustry.biz that Ubisoft+ had amassed millions of customers since launching as Uplay+ in September 2019. With 10% of these subscribers having never played a game from Ubisoft before, October 2023 proved to be the company's most prosperous month to date. Although Chris Early, SVP of Strategic Partnerships at Ubisoft, predicts a drop in physical game sales, he is still hopeful that they won't completely disappear.
Tremblay underlined Ubisoft's dedication to offering gamers a variety of consumption options, stressing that the business seeks to satisfy different tastes through purchases or subscriptions. Although the traditional approach to game ownership is still common, Tremblay emphasised the significant growth potential that exists if players are willing to accept not owning the games they play. He drew comparisons to the development of CD and DVD collections and stressed how important it is that players get used to the concept.
The Director of Subscriptions highlighted that while switching to subscription services might happen gradually, players will eventually get used to it and recognise its advantages, which include saving their progress files and having continuous access to games.
In the future, Ubisoft sees an easy transition between game streaming and subscription services, with a redesigned pricing model that lets customers pay only for the content they consume. This is in line with a wider industry trend that has revolutionised the way people watch films and television shows.
In short, Ubisoft continues to be at the forefront of changing game models and predicts that, if consumers are willing to let go of traditional game ownership, subscription services will completely transform the gaming industry in the future.