Today, alongside the Early Access launch of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown: on Ubisoft+, Ubisoft is renaming its subscription plans.
Ubisoft is also introducing a new offer: Ubisoft+ Classics on PC, a curated selection of popular back-catalog and live games.
What are the core differences between Ubisoft+ Premium and Ubisoft+ Classics?
Philippe Tremblay (Ubisoft's Director of Subscription): Premium means day one access to new releases and in some cases, like Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, early access to upcoming new releases. This is on top of our extensive back catalog, where you'll have access to premium editions, DLC, and monthly rewards. All of this is offered on Xbox, PC, and Amazon Luna, and you'll only need to subscribe once to have access to these games across all these platforms. Players can subscribe to Ubisoft+ Premium for a monthly fee of $17.99.
Alternatively, players can subscribe to Ubisoft+ Classics, a curated selection of our most popular back-catalog games, like Far Cry 6, Rainbow Six Siege, and Watch Dogs: Legion. This catalog will grow with time, is included for PlayStation+ Extra and PlayStation+ Premium Members, and is now available on PC through the Ubisoft Store for $7.99 per month.
How has Ubisoft+ evolved over the last four years? Have you seen significant subscriber growth year-on-year?
PT: It's been quite an interesting four years, for sure. We've seen millions of players since launch, and they've enjoyed over 600 million hours of play. 2023 will mark our biggest year ever - we're above projection in terms of subscribers joining the program, and in October alone we reached the highest month since launch in terms of monthly active users. We're thrilled to see players enjoy the service.
Which games are you seeing Ubisoft+ players spend the most time playing, and what does that data tell you?
PT: There is always a mix of games. Assassin's Creed and Rainbow Six are obvious leaders, but we do see a lot of diversity at the top per platform, among both new releases and the back catalog. Speaking to the former, Assassin's Creed Mirage and The Crew Motorfest quickly made their way into the top five in the past couple of months.
What are the differences you're seeing in subscriber behavior vs. buyers?
PT: One thing we noticed is that a subscription is a great way to introduce our games to brand-new players within the Ubisoft ecosystem. One in 10 subscribers is someone who has never played a Ubisoft game before. As a result, they go on to discover more of our games, so it really speaks to the model as a means to expand their horizons.
Tell us about Ubisoft+ Classics and how you have curated that catalog of games.
PT: As mentioned earlier, when we look at the results, players are really enjoying and engaging with our back catalog when they subscribe. So, we saw an opportunity to craft a service specifically around said catalog. We think it's a strong offer at the price point, and the catalog will only grow as we keep adding games to it as time goes on, so players can discover even more of our worlds.
How does the renaming affect current Ubisoft+ PC Access subscribers?
PT: PC subscribers will keep their plan as is, with the same monthly price point that they are enjoying right now.
With new releases out day one, how do you hope to combat churn (users who cancel or unsubscribe) rates?
PT: The goal of Ubisoft+ is for us to build value. We've made the commitment to bring more games to our subscribers. So, looking into the future, we have an exciting lineup that they'll be able to play either in early access or on day one, and then we'll eventually have the Activision Blizzard catalog, too. Alongside the perks and our rich, diverse back catalog, we believe we're offering a compelling reason for our players to stick around.
Can you tell us anything more about the Activision Blizzard games catalog and when it might be coming?
PT: We know players are excited about that, and I am too. We're working on the offering right now to make sure it's the best possible experience for our subscribers, and we'll have more to share later.