LThe relationship between Ubisoft and Steam is not going through its best momentand this is one of those cases in which players should not experience too many doubts about which side to take. In the vast universe of gaming, where player numbers tell stories of success or failure, Ubisoft seems to be fighting a reality that it does not want to see reflected in public numberssince the statistics of active players on Steam have become a thorn in the side for the company, and now it seeks to change the rules of the game.
Active player numbers are a key metric for assessing success or failure, as they reflect the health and popularity of a game. Tools like SteamDB allow anyone to access this information, making it easier to make decisions about purchasing or joining a community of players. However, for Ubisoft, This transparency is negatively affecting the perception of some of its titles.
A very recent and notable example is the case of Star Wars Outlaws. This game, which recently arrived on Steam, It barely managed to exceed 1,000 simultaneous players at its launch. Furthermore, total sales on Valve’s store have not reached 2 million copies, well below the 10 million needed for a AAA project to be profitable by Ubisoft’s standards. It is true, yes, that it has previously been sold on other platforms, but given Valve’s greater reach, and therefore the expectations created, this poor performance has not impacted the public perception of the game, but also the value of the company’s shares.
Ubisoft is not the only company interested in limiting the visibility of these statisticswe have previously heard that other companies have pressured Steam to restrict access to tools like SteamDB, requests that, fortunately, have not been addressed by Valve. However, neither Ubisoft nor Steam have issued official statements on this issue, leaving the veracity of these requests up in the air.
Looking to the future, Ubisoft has its hopes pinned on Assassin’s Creed Shadowsa new title set in Japan that promises to revitalize the franchise with innovative stealth mechanics. With its launch scheduled for February 14, 2025, the company hopes to regain the trust of gamers and improve its position in the market. Additionally, Ubisoft has announced plans to increase the frequency of releases of Assassin’s Creedwith new titles every six months, in an attempt to maintain the relevance of the saga.
Ubisoft’s request to Steam to hide player numbers, if true, appears to be just one more piece in its strategy to address current challenges. The success of the next launches will be crucial to determine if these measures manage to change public perception and improve the company’s situation, although with measures like this several points are noted in the opposite direction.
Source: www.muycomputer.com
