Next-gen is here, and so are the price hikes. With increased development costs and graphic performance comes higher price tags. After Sony started charging $70 for their AAA PlayStation 5 titles, it was assumed other studios would follow. Ubisoft today has confirmed via Axios that some of their games will be rising to that $70 price, starting with Skull and Bones.
To be more specific, CEO Yves Guillemot said Ubisoft’s “big AAA games” will see the price hike, suggesting that smaller titles will not see the same rise. This can be seen in practice with Assassin’s Creed Mirage, which is rumoured to be a smaller-scale title, and costs $50. The extra charge is sure to be met with criticism by many, given the current cost-of-living crisis gripping many countries at the moment.
Ubisoft has long been criticised for the inclusion of upgrade packs and items that speed up gameplay in their titles, sold at a premium with real-world currency. It’ll be interesting to see if Ubisoft continues the heavy-handed monetization of their titles whilst also charging a higher entry price into the game. For now I’ll hope that Skull and Bones is spared from the worst of Ubisoft’s business habits, for its own good.
What do you think of Ubisoft’s price rise? What do you think of the increasing price of gaming more broadly? Let us know in the comments below, and keep your eyes on GameLuster for more gaming news.
