Is Assassin's Creed Mirage stepping away from post-launch DLCs a sign of Ubisoft shifting from predatory practices?

Assassin's Creed Mirage is one of 2023's most essential releases, partly due to its significance in re-establishing players' faith in the long-running series. However, most importantly, A.C. Mirage is the starting point for a new Ubisoft after the French publisher's multiple-year-long hiatus, and it seems the developer is finally taking player feedback to heart.

According to Ubisoft Bordeaux, the studio behind Assassin's Creed Mirage, the team has no plans to release post-launch DLCs for the game. It is instead keen on delivering a complete single-player experience from day one. Post-launch support has never been associated with the classic Assassin's Creed games.

However, the newer entries in the series deviated massively from that notion. Post-launch DLCs, expansions, and free updates are one of the most critical aspects of their life cycle, akin to any modern "games-as-a-service" title.

It seems Ubisoft is making positive strides, and perhaps, Assassin's Creed Mirage is a sign that the publisher is finally stepping away from predatory practices.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the author's opinions.

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How Assassin's Creed Mirage might just be a new start for Ubisoft

While Ubisoft was initially synonymous with innovation and quality, the recent few AAA releases under the publisher are anything but innovative. Over the last few years, the company's games have become synonymous with contrived open worlds with mediocre gameplay and forced predatory practices.

Although Ubisoft initially saw significant success with the forceful addition of microtransactions in their single-player games, it was the catalyst that caused disenfranchisement for long-time fans of Ubisoft's I.P.s.

Assassin's Creed was one of the most affected series, with the most recent entries featuring more microtransactions than some free-to-play offerings.

From armor sets to weapon packs to even the "time savers" akin to any free-to-play mobile game, Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Valhalla had everything. On their own, both games were serviceable and perhaps even enjoyable in short bursts. However, they were nowhere near as good as the classic Assassin's Creed titles.

A.C. Valhalla and Odyssey, in several aspects, don't even justify being within the same umbrella as the classic Assassin's Creed games. At best, both were relatively shallow open-world role-playing titles, and at worst, they were a glorified cash shop for Ubisoft to sell microtransactions at exorbitant prices.

Fortunately, it seems the publisher is finally stepping back and focusing on taking Assassin's Creed back to its roots, literally and figuratively. Assassin's Creed Mirage might've been born from the ashes of its predecessor, A.C. Valhalla, but it has the potential to soar above it.

With Ubisoft not pushing for any forced microtransactions with the latest title, it might as well end up being one of the best games in the franchise.

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Assassin's Creed Mirage will be released on October 12, 2023, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows PC.