Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is getting great reviews from critics and has already sold 2 million copies. But not everyone is raving on Steam. Some negative player reviews have flooded in over the Ubisoft remake’s long list of microtransactions. The French publisher has responded by saying none of those paid DLCs are needed to enjoy the “full, complete experience.”
Black Flag Resynced currently sits at a rating of 76-percent positive on Steam after players started dinging it for how it’s monetized. While aggressively priced at $60 compared to the $70 price tag of most day-one blockbuster games, the Steam page also lists $84.91 worth of day-one DLC that players can purchase. This includes stuff like costumes for protagonist Edward Kenway and decorations for his pirate ship, but also things that directly affect gameplay, like a $10 map pack that unlocks secret locations in the world to spare players having to hunt for them.
“When a game dev creates a entire map, it makes sense to add collectible items so the players will actually explore everything, it’s also fun to slowly tick these items off the map to truly give the feeling that you conquered the game,” wrote Steam user LittleFire131. “But making it a paid DLC to be able to see them and not force the player to constantly search up a guide is just so annoying and money hungry, it shouldn’t cost money to toggle some minimap icons that’ll save the player a few hours of aimless wandering… in a single player game.”
Someone else was more succinct: “I mean, I bought it. Am I the stupid one for enabling this behavior?” Ubisoft has now taken the unusual step of responding to the negative feedback.
“We’ve seen your feedback since launch, and we’re reading all of it,” a representative for the publisher wrote below one of the negative reviews. “Thank you for caring this much about Black Flag Resynced. We want to be clear on one point: the standard edition is the full, complete experience. Every mission, every island, the full story and the complete world are all there, with nothing held back. The additional packs are entirely optional extras for players who want them, never a requirement to enjoy or complete the game.”
That’s in contrast to a game like Grand Theft Auto VI, which came under fire for locking certain items and locations behind a $100 Deluxe Edition. Unlike Rockstar Games’ upcoming blockbuster, Ubisoft points out that nothing in the world of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is gated behind paid upgrades.
Black Flag Resynced‘s microtransactions are tame compared to those in other recent open-world RPG entries in the franchise. Those have in the past included everything from purchasable gear that effects combat to XP boosters to cut down on how grindy the game can feel. While Ubisoft’s monetization model for single-player games has retreated somewhat, players overall have also become more inured to paid add-ons and cosmetics in games more generally.
That hasn’t stopped a heated debate from ensuing on Steam. There are currently comments below Ubisoft’s response.