For the last decade or so, streaming subscription services have started to become the norm when it comes to consuming TV shows and movies. Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, HBO Max, and more are all competing for the viewer's time and money. And to make matters worse, now the gaming industry is following suit. Popularized by Xbox Game Pass in 2017, gaming subscription services are starting to become much more prevalent in the industry. While some companies are doing a great job of making the service mutually beneficial, some aren't, and one of those is Ubisoft+.
Debuting on PC only in September 2019 as Uplay+ before receiving a rebrand in October 2020, Ubisoft+ is a subscription service not dissimilar to Xbox Game Pass. For a certain price every month, subscribers can access an extensive catalog of Ubisoft titles, and play new releases on day one for no additional cost. However, the big kicker is that Ubisoft+ is $18 a month, and with the service now on Xbox consoles and directly competing against Game Pass, it seems as though Ubisoft isn't learning from its past mistakes at all.
Ubisoft+ Won't Be Able to Pull in the Same Crowd as PS Plus and Game Pass
Ubisoft+ has just launched on Xbox consoles, and it has plans to launch on PlayStation at a later date. But rather than being tied into the Game Pass and PlayStation Plus subscription services, Ubisoft+ is choosing to be in direct competition with them, which makes very little sense. Xbox Game Pass is currently one of the best deals in gaming, offering over 100 high-quality titles for just one reasonable price, and a price which is $3 less than Ubisoft+. Even if Ubisoft+ was the same price as Game Pass or cheaper by a few bucks, it would still have an uphill battle trying to compete with the long-standing service.
Instead of releasing as direct competition to Xbox Game Pass, Ubisoft+ should have followed in the footsteps of EA Play. Launched all the way back in 2014, EA Play was actually one of the first subscription services in gaming, or at least one of the first from one of the major publishers. But even with it having a three-year head start on Xbox Game Pass, EA Play still understood the limitations of its own offerings and agreed to fold itself into Xbox Game Pass as part of its Ultimate bundle, asking for just a few extra dollars a month. Game Pass subscribers are much more likely to drop a few extra dollars on top of their usual subscription than spend an absurd amount on an entirely separate subscription service.
To make matters even worse, Ubisoft really doesn't have the line-up to justify Ubisoft+'s high price point right now. Currently, there are 65 games on Ubisoft+, and while there are some genuinely great titles on there, the fans likely to sign up for this service will have almost definitely already played them.But the biggest draw of Ubisoft+ is the ability to play new Ubisoft games on the day of release for no extra charge. However, the big downside to this is that Ubisoft doesn't really have an upcoming slate at all right now.
When visiting Ubisoft's own website, under the "Coming Soon" page it's listed Skull and Bones, a game which has been delayed indefinitely again, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake, a game which has also been delayed indefinitely, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, a game which still doesn't have a release date, and The Division: Heartland and XDefiant, two free-to-play games. While more games are likely to be announced soon during a Ubisoft June showcase, the publisher really only has Assassin's Creed Mirage to offer its subscribers, and that's not enough to justify spending $18 a month, at least not yet.