Ubisoft sees subscriptions as a “huge growth opportunity” compared to physical video games.

MADRID, January 16 (Portaltic/EP) –

Ubisoft believes that the shift from using physical video games to cloud gaming “is a consumer behavior change that needs to happen” and believes that its games’ subscription model is presented as “huge growth opportunity” for the brand.

The developer’s director of subscriptions, Philippe Tremblay, was interviewed by Games Industry following the launch of the subscription plan. Ubisoft+ Premium and option Ubisoft+ Classic, where he commented on why he decided to implement these new monthly alternatives and how Ubisoft’s future is planned around these services.

First, Tremblay justified the inclusion of these subscription plans as a necessity driven by consumer behavior and how they have interacted with its offering thus far. “We saw an opportunity to develop”” he said, insisting that Ubisoft+ Classic was born out of user interest in accessing the legacy catalog of games, which is “still very active and alive.”

Due to Ubisoft+ Premiumwhose monthly subscription (€17.99) exceeds the price offered by Xbox (€14.99 for the Ultimate version) and PlayStation (€16.99 for the Premium version), Tremblay believes its cost is reasonable compared to what it offers in relation to these other services. , for example, access to AAA games, premium editions or awardsin addition to being a multi-platform subscription as it allows you to play the game on PC, Xbox and Amazon Luna.

While players exhibit “multiple behaviors,” Ubisoft aims to offer a variety of services in its subscriptions. based on player preferences. This explains why some people who buy video games are now choosing to subscribe to their services to enhance the experience that physical games don’t give them.

In this sense, he believes that Ubisoft+ allows the firm to attract new players and that, according to its data, one in ten subscribers have not interacted with its video games before. It explains that the subscription format allows them to access titles “that maybe they didn’t want to buy.”

For this reason, the manager sees the format as a “huge opportunity for growth” and believes that while players have become accustomed to the physical format, and more specifically “to owning and owning their games”, “there needs to be a change”.

“It’s about being comfortable playing without having the video game,” but with the confidence that you’ll be able to pick up where you left the game, which Tremblay said is “reassuring” for players.

In conclusion, the manager commented on his impressions of streaming, which, in his opinion, “works very well with subscriptions” because you only pay when you need it, “instead of paying all the time.”

In this regard, it is worth noting that at the end of August last year, Microsoft announced the transfer of cloud gaming rights to Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft, which demonstrates the firm’s interest in expanding in this format.

At the same time, the manager assured that the developer is “actively” working on this and that “players are delighted with it,” also pointing out that streaming allows “quick discovery” of video games.