Ubisoft claims a technical issue was behind in-game ads for Assassin’s Creed.
Ubisoft has stated that Black Friday deal pop-ups were due to a technical error which has since been addressed and rectified.
Assassin’s Creed developer Ubisoft came under scrutiny when several players reported being interrupted during gameplay by pop-up ads for discounts for its latest installment, Assassin’s Creed Mirage. These ads allegedly advertised discounts available only when browsing game maps.
These were no small advertisements either – these banners took over most of the screen space and blocked players’ gameplay; leading many people to express outrage at Ubisoft for resorting to such aggressive marketing techniques.
Ubisoft quickly resolved the problem, with advertisements becoming visible due to technical error that has now been fixed. They apologized for any disruption they had caused and stated their ads have since disappeared from view.
Eurogamer obtained the full statement, which reads as follows. We are aware of reports indicating some players experienced pop-up ads when playing certain Assassin’s Creed titles yesterday due to a technical error which we immediately addressed as soon as we became aware of this matter.”
Which side you believe was at fault is entirely subjective, but at least the issue has been swiftly rectified so people can continue enjoying games as intended.
Surprisingly enough, Ubisoft isn’t the only one facing backlash over in-game advertisements this year – Warner Bros Games was criticised recently with Mortal Kombat 11 ads as well.
Players looking forward to enjoying a good fighting game were shocked and appalled when adverts appeared within its menus for Hogwarts Legacy, an offshoot game from Harry Potter that is worlds apart from Mortal Kombat in terms of violence and gore.
Ubisoft may have learned its lesson, yet their action indicates gaming companies may become bolder when advertising new releases – possibly setting an unfortunate precedent that will only worsen as time progresses.
