Ubisoft has conspicuously omitted a widely criticized statement claiming that microtransactions make games "more fun" from its latest financial report. This decision follows significant player backlash regarding the monetization practices in the recently released Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced.
The company had previously justified its approach to premium game monetization to investors by stating that it "makes the player experience more fun by allowing them to personalise their avatars or progress more quickly." This assertion drew considerable online criticism.
However, in the newly published Universal Registration Document 2025-26, the sentiment is nowhere to be found. The section on Group Business Model and Strategy, which is largely unchanged from the previous year, now reads: "At Ubisoft, the golden rule when developing premium games is to allow players to enjoy the game in full without having to spend more." The preceding line about microtransactions enhancing enjoyment has been removed.
Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced launched with a price of £49.99 for the standard edition (or £59.99 for the Deluxe Edition), accompanied by approximately £75 worth of optional microtransactions. These include cosmetic items as well as gameplay-focused additions that offer time-saving benefits.
In response to player criticism, Ubisoft stated that the standard edition represents the "full, complete experience" and that additional packs are "entirely optional extras." The company also noted that the remake of the 2013 original sold 2 million copies over its opening weekend. Reviews for Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced have been mixed, with some acknowledging it as a "perfectly fine way of experiencing this tale" but noting that certain additions, including microtransactions, "are not universally positive."
Elsewhere in the financial report, Ubisoft reiterated its ongoing investment in "Teammates," its "first playable Generative AI experience," and its progress on AI applications aimed at managing game development complexity, such as intelligent bots for quality control and more adaptive non-player characters and game worlds.