Michael Douse, the publishing director for Larian Studios known for the game Baldur’s Gate 3, has criticised Ubisoft broken strategy regarding the release of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. In multiple interviews and tweets, Douse pointed out issues with Ubisoft focusing more on subscriptions than game sales.
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Ubisoft Prioritization of Subscriptions Over Sales
Douse said Ubisoft own store and subscription service were not performing before Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown release. Previous Ubisoft games like The Crew Motorfest, Assassin’s Creed: Mirage, and Avatar: Frontier of Pandora did not financially do well in 2023. This means that subscriptions were declining when the company released PoP: TLC.
No Steam Release at Launch
PoP: TLC reviewed well with critics, gaining an 86 average score on Metacritic. Douse says it would have sold much better if Ubisoft released it on the popular PC store Steam at launch. Instead, it was initially only available on Ubisoft and Epic stores for 7 months before coming to Steam. According to Douse, Steam releases account for 90% of potential PC game sales.
Comparison to Gamer Statement on Game Ownership
Douse compared his views to a previous statement by Ubisoft that gamers need to “get used to not owning their games.” He argued that prioritising subscriptions over platform sales would make the related statement true that developers would need to “get used to not having jobs” even if they made critically acclaimed games, which isn’t a good business model.
Concluding Remarks
Michael Douse used the example of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown to highlight what he sees as flaws in Ubisoft’s current strategy. He highlighted issues focused on subscriptions and limited the game’s availability on digital storefronts. This strategy allegedly resulted in lower-than-expected sales and even the disbandment of the developer team. According to Douse, such an approach is simply not viable from a sensible business perspective.
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