Far Cry 6: Ubisoft wants to extend game time with cheeky mail

Microtransactions are also part of single player games at Ubisoft. Getting players to buy as much as possible, however, takes game time, or “commitment”, which is related to sales volume. Must contribute 6 provocative advertising emails to increase playing time in Far Cry.

Over the past few days, Ubisoft has been sending emails on behalf of the fictional villain of Far Cry 6. Under the theme “You let me down, [Name]The dictator thanks the player for giving “free rein” to the island kingdom of Yara and is “happy to see you fail”. last two elements of mail To be separated from player to player; Here it is clearly selected from a pool of citations.

A lot of games are already brutally designed for maximum engagement, but now they email you and annoy you if you dare to stop playing them. pic.twitter.com/TRIsV4jnZP

— Brendan Sinclair (@BrendanSinclair) 26 October 2021

Be a player, one from Kotaku revealed To publish Ubisoft Mail, which includes “I’m sure you can do more than this,” as well as the amount of hours played, killed, and weapons unlocked. The mail closes in about the game with tips, a picture of a dog and the title “Get Good Boys Treats”—a reference to the challenges in Ubisoft’s Connect online service. What’s new, apart from the tone, is that even active players have received these emails.

players are dogs

The conclusion, in particular, seems cynical when you consider how Ubisoft games work. Even single player titles like Far Cry 6 have one Well Stocked In-Game Shop, grinding wheels and a reward system designed to keep the player in the game for as long as possible. For developers, it’s not primarily about fun, but about play time. Entertainment is only a means to an end, but not the only one. Because only those who are in-game are exposed to direct and indirect advertising for micro-transactions, which can no longer be properly separated from gameplay and which have long accounted for the majority of sales in the balance sheet. Huh. Basically, it can be said that for a publisher, players are nothing more than dogs in search of the next reward, which can be conditioned as desired.

Ubisoft itself wrote in a statement eurogamerThat email is a “fun and clever way” to “remind people to return to Yara”.