300°

AC:Unity is broken and needs to be recalled and refunded

MWEB GameZone writes: "The fact is, Ubisoft needs to admit this game is utterly broken, recall it from retail and offer a no-questions-asked refund to all who bought it. Recalling and refunding the game is the only honourable thing to do."

plut0nash3837d ago

It's time the franchise ended.

lord zaid3837d ago

There's nothing wrong with the franchise. The concept is fine. But bugs will ruin anything.

freshslicepizza3837d ago

game breaking bugs are the worse but why would they recall the game now? the author thinks its ok to just ignore all the thousands of man hours that went into this game.

what we need is better quality control. if the game is broken, stop selling it immediately. fix it, then sell it again. those that bought it offer a refund but it shouldn't just be pulled and not fixed.

same thing with games like driveclub and halo mc collection. stop selling the game until it gets fixed properly.

morganfell3837d ago

It does not matter how many man hours went into a product. This acceptance of non-functional software, that is, a failure to operate in the manner in which it was advertised, is unforgivable. It is bad enough that this is prevalent on PCs, which on the whole consist of multiple configurations but to continue having these issues on locked platforms such as the PS4 and Xbox One is criminal.

As I stated before, the place to begin isn't some BS online petition but rather here:

https://www.ftccomplaintass...

Several of us, spearheaded a movement years ago and Activision was forced to comply.

freshslicepizza3837d ago

its unforgivable only if you cannot do anything about it. get a refund, move on. if a refund is not offered then you as a consumer have rights to a working product. that isn't what i am arguing over. im arguing over the basis that this game should be recalled. it should only be recalled if they cant fix it and its broken for everyone. bugs sadly have become part of game releases. they can try and fix those but if a game doesn't work then return it.

are all console and pc gamers unable to finish the game? no. does the performance struggle? yes but it is playable. can they fix it completely? we'll see

morganfell3837d ago (Edited 3837d ago )

You are not paying for a game to function..."down the road", "eventually", or "when they can get to it".

I do not buy a car and then come back months later to drive it off the lot once the mechanics manage to get the car to start or run correctly.

In most places you cannot get a full refund for a title and as regards digital versions...not happening 99% of the time. This pattern of broken games is showing no signs of abating. This message needs to go to Ubisoft in the only manner which they will understand. It will serve to correct, somewhat, their behavior as well as that of the other errant publishers.

For the good of the gamers and the industry this needs to be done.

poppinslops3837d ago

What about Fallout or Skyrim?

It's been years since they released and they're still riddled with bugs and glitches... Yet they're considered by many (myself included) to be two of the best games ever.

Plenty of great games are buggy... At least Ubisoft are working to resolve these issues.

If glitches really do ruin your experience, the solution is simple... Don't pre-order games.

morganfell3837d ago

I am not excusing past games. They should not have been so riddled with issues either. But we are now reaching the point where patch sizes are becoming absurd, issues so prevalent they should never have passed QA, and something must be done to reset the practice. It will eventually creep in again and need to be addressed in the future but for now if nothing is done, something serious and meaningful outside of a few people returning a title, then the situation will only worsen.

As long as companies can take in money while selling incomplete software they will continue to do so and as we have seen will commit such actions at an ever increasing rate and with elevated issues.

Sillicur3836d ago

Agreed. Althought AC: Unity feels like they are really just milking a franchise instead of delivering anything remotely resembling a game.

zero_gamer3836d ago

"its unforgivable only if you cannot do anything about it."

It's unforgivable to release a shoddy product that ends up wasting everyone's time (publishers, developers, retailers, and gamers alike) instead of a working game that gamers can enjoy. We can't let this slide if we don't want this to define the future of major game releases.

If readers find typos in every second page of a major book release, you can expect public outrage and criticism.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 3836d ago
HanCilliers3837d ago

Gosh, no need to throw out the baby with the bath water. They've given us plenty of good games

MasterCornholio3837d ago (Edited 3837d ago )

What a waste of a perfectly good baby.

I want my baby back baby back baby ribs.

;)

morganfell3837d ago (Edited 3837d ago )

Why not Han? This isn't a one time incident but rather the latest in a growing pattern, not only by Ubisoft but by publishers in general. The practice has now reached the level where it is unacceptable. The only way Ubisoift and these other developers will learn their lesson is from a sharp blow to the head.

kurruptor3837d ago

Morgan what other Ubisoft game was full of bugs and not playable?

Pintheshadows3837d ago

I am guessing you don't play many Ubisoft games on PC Kurruptor.

starchild3837d ago

So should we stop buying games from Sony and Microsoft too? Because they are guilty of the same things.

In any case, AC Unity might be a glitchier game than past games in the franchise, but it ran fine for me and I didn't have a single game breaking bug. I played it and enjoyed it quite a lot.

I'm not saying that I don't want them to avoid such glitches in future games, but I can't help but feel that some people are blowing things out of proportion.

kurruptor3837d ago

No, I don't play Ubisoft games on PC. My question still stands. What games other are unplayable? Bad performance does not mean unplayable.

If Ubisoft has a history of bad optimization on the PC, and you continue to buy their games.... that is on you, not them.

If the game is completely unplayable, take it back to the store for a refund.... it is simple.

DarthZoolu3836d ago

kurruptor don't be stupid you know damn well you can't return opened games unless they are used.

zero_gamer3836d ago

Good games like AC4, Far Cry 3, and Rayman Origins, for example, have nothing to do with AC: Unity being a broken game on release. There is no shortage of games broken on release and remain broken after gigabytes worth of patches.

If you're a frequent game buyer such as I am, there are so many broken games you can stand. Why jump through all these hoops to play a game when you can just buy a damn game and play it with little issue? Never mind, that is too good to be true. All Ubisoft games of interest will be grabbed off the used rack at GameStop.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 3836d ago
MasterCornholio3837d ago (Edited 3837d ago )

The franchise doesnt have to end but they need to spend more time developing quality Assassins Creed games.

P.S I platinumed black flag so I do like the franchise. But I refuse to buy Unity due to its horrible framerate and game breaking glitches.

HanCilliers3837d ago

Exactly, we've had plenty of good AC games

skulz73837d ago

Agreed. I respect the originality of the series, I mean it's the only historical open world franchise out there. It doesn't need to end, Ubisoft just have to get their sh*t together or they will really really suffer in the long run. Ubisoft make incredibly intriguing franchises but they honesty need to sort out their quality control.

ceejaa3837d ago

I liked the game. Three trophies from platinum and the glitches i exprienced wasnt enough to turn me off.

Letthewookiewin3837d ago

Thats what Ive been saying. The NPC's glitch in and out right in front of you. It looks like crap.

Nodoze3837d ago

The problem is that this whole ordeal still nets Ubisoft a tidy profit. They are getting holiday sales from those not in the know. It was released regardless of state purely for this reason.

Perhaps the next game should feature assassinations of the Ubi exec team. Those that place profit above all else are destroying this industry.

Kemicalbeliefs3837d ago

The problem is even if the game was 100% fixed, people would still moan and grumble about anything. Seems to be the in thing these days to moan.

Games have glitches and I've noticed stuff like this in many top games nobody has moaned about it like the scale of this game. Seems to be more of a trend these days probably to give each other reach arounds.

pelida3837d ago

No. The problem is Ubisoft sold us a broken game

Kemicalbeliefs3837d ago

So how come I've beat the game and collected everything quite fine?

Broken means doesn't work. Yes it's had its faults but by eck it's been hyped.

LoveSpuds3837d ago

I also clocked around 35 hours into Unity and had no problems either. It looked incredible and ran as well as any other AC game I played (I played them all on PS3 or PS4).

The game was pretty good too, my only real gripes are with the game design itself, namely that there are too many collectibles in the game, but this could just be my OCD-like need to collect everything in games.

Ubi have given me some amazing entertainment this lasy year with Rayman being my personal fave current gen game. Factor in Child of Light, Valiant Hearts, Watchdogs, FarCry4 and AC Blackflag and I have no complaints at all.

1nsomniac3837d ago (Edited 3837d ago )

Do you people not get tired of blaming people who complain about paying for broken products & false promises.

You do realise just how ridiculous & spineless it makes you all look when you say people should accept these products & just keep quiet, right?

starchild3837d ago

Do you people ever get tired of the exaggeration and outright lies that you spread? The game is not broken. Do you know the definition of broken? I doubt you have even played the game.

No, people shouldn't keep quiet, they just shouldn't be such morons. A rational, factual criticism is going to be much more persuasive than crying, being hyperbolic and just making stuff up.

1nsomniac3836d ago (Edited 3836d ago )

I absolutely agree criticisms should be 100% factual. Do you not think that that makes you look even more stupid when the developers themselves have also publicly claimed it's broken but they are fixing it.

It's absolutely amazing what you people choose to ignore while telling others to keep their facts quietly to themselves...

Show all comments (53)
60°

Report: Inside Ubisoft's Project Renaissance, a Cancelled Minecraft-Like Voxel Game

In recent years, Ubisoft has canceled several games, one of them being a project code-named Renaissance.

100°

16 Ubisoft Titles Can Now Be Purchased on The Xbox PC Store

In a very intriguing and interesting move, 16 Ubisoft titles can now be purchased on the Xbox PC Store. Of course, this is a first as Ubisoft PC titles have never been purchasable on the Xbox PC Store previously.

Read Full Story >>
clouddosage.com
jznrpg34d ago

Servers are going to be bogged down by that 1 guy who will use this.

SimpleDad34d ago

Ahhh, the good old... Xbox PC store?
Who tf uses that?

Tacoboto34d ago

Kind of weird without them being updated to Xbox Play Anywhere purchases

MrDead33d ago

I uninstalled it as I was sick of the ads popping up on my login screen.

180°

Ubisoft Announces Weak Financial Results, Delays Games, but Assassin's Creed Shadows is Going Strong

Ubisoft announced its financial results for the fiscal year 2024-2025, and they're not good, but Assassin's Creed Shadows is doing well.

Read Full Story >>
simulationdaily.com
neutralgamer199234d ago

Three companies keep showing their true faces and telling us who they are but for some weird reason we refuse to believe them. Even when everything they show just makes their greediness even stands out more

Keep messing with the consumers and keep being greedy. Keep telling your consumers to get comfortable now owning your games and we will. You only have few IP's that gamers care about anyways so

"soon enough tencent will buy you out. They already own 49%. Keep deleting games from gamers libraries and getting sued over it instead of making offline play possible for the crew" it's sad that I believe in 10 cents more than UBI because atleast tencent knows how to run a proper business

These executives can taking millions and bonuses and stock options yet they fire those actually making the games without thinking twice. Gaming has become so greedy that their own greed will be their downfall. Companies like Capcom have realized making good quality games and treat gamers with respect

AC series started with a soul but now it's just a soulless empty option world with icons filling the game map. They make their own games so grindy so that they can see the XP boosters to even the odds. As a gamer in my 40's all I want to know is when did gaming just stop being about Fun and all about greed. Double XP weekends selling cosmetics and dances. I use to be a big sports game guy when I was in my 20's the other day I wanted to play NBA 2k and after doing some deep research I realized the best NBA game was 2k17 and NBA 2k25 at $9.79 I couldn't pull the trigger on that 2k25 for how egregious the micro transactions were. So much of the fun is behind a pay wall

dveio34d ago

True words, buddy.

Q: "So how many units did Shadows sell?"

Ubisoft: "Well, look, we ... it's been a busy week."

neutralgamer199234d ago

For over a decade, the price of video games remained steady. We paid $50, then $60 for full, content-rich experiences. Developers found creative ways to deliver incredible games without charging more. From the PS2 era through the PS4/Xbox One, pricing consistency gave players a sense of value and trust.

But then came the jump to $70 during the PS5 and Xbox Series X launches—justified by "rising development costs." And now, barely four years later, we’re seeing $80 price tags becoming more common for standard editions. At this pace, by the time the next generation of consoles launches around 2027, $90 games could be the norm. And with a behemoth like GTA 6 on the horizon, a $99.99 base price wouldn’t be shocking at all.

Yet we’ve also seen proof that this kind of pricing isn’t necessary for success. Look at the recent launches of Expedition 33 and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. Both released at $49.99 and have been met with strong sales and positive reception. These games show that there’s still plenty of room for high-quality, mid-budget (AA) titles that offer great value—and gamers are more than willing to support them at fair prices.

But here’s the problem: the big publishers don’t care. If we as consumers keep paying for deluxe editions, early access, and overpriced base games, they’ll keep pushing the limits. They’re not going to back down unless we speak with our wallets—because that’s the only language they listen to. If they see record sales, they’ll take it as validation.

It’s frustrating when these same companies report record-breaking revenue and profits—yet still complain about tariffs, still find excuses to raise prices, and still hand out bigger bonuses to their CEOs. If they’re doing so well financially, why are they passing more of the burden onto players?

It’s because gaming has become the second biggest entertainment market in the world. And with that comes attention from hedge funds, investors, and boardrooms focused on short-term profit, not long-term player trust. To them, your passion is just a revenue stream. They care about quarterly numbers, not the health of the industry or the joy of the experience.

And unless we—as players—take a stand, the greed won’t stop. The monetization will grow, the price hikes will continue, and the soul of gaming will keep slipping away. The choice is ours. We can either keep paying more for less, or we can push back. One purchase—or one refusal to purchase—at a time

dveio34d ago

"And unless we—as players—take a stand, the greed won’t stop."

And that's the tough part about it.

Look at those annual figures showing billions and billions of money being spent on the most ridiculous add-ons, DLCs, pre-release accesses, even pre-orders, digital deluxe crap, etc.

I mean - we've stood together at times. I don't say it didn't happen before.

But within all of our communities there's so much passive aggressive defensiveness.

Look at the debates regarding physical vs digital.

Publishers can't keep a straight face reading our discussions in which many people abandon physical.

Playing straight into the cards of publishers out there.

neutralgamer199233d ago (Edited 33d ago )

Like I said gamers are the biggest issue with gaming. We may united on a issue but as soon as our favorite gaming franchise gets a release we will support it. If there any doubt Mario kart will be one of the best selling games on switch 2?

Things we use to unlock by simply playing a game has not be sold to us as extra content

Rainbowcookie34d ago

I think people arebgetting tired of the formula. We see it in sales. People just want fun again.

neutralgamer199233d ago

I just want games to be fun and not geindy and full of micro transactions

anast33d ago

Even the $130 ultimate editions of UBI games are only a bit less grindy and they still beg people to buy helix coins throughout the whole experience.

It's a travesty what 2K did to NBA 2K.

neutralgamer199233d ago

It really is because NBA 2K is simply unplayable without spending money and you can't even respec for a new my player you are required to spend again

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 33d ago
SimpleDad34d ago

When you don't disclose units sold... and your stock goes down... how is this doing well?

CantThinkOfAUsername34d ago

"According to the company, Assassin’s Creed Shadows achieved the second-highest Day 1 sales revenue in franchise history, following Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. It actually had the best Day 1 performance of Ubisoft’s history on the PlayStation Store."

S2Killinit33d ago

AC Shadows is doing good yes.

gigoran834d ago

but but 2,000,000 players...

Chocoburger33d ago

Ubishit burned so many bridges with fans, releasing filler dreck that was purposefully designed to push you towards micro-trash-actions. It didn't have to be this way, they could have respected us players more, instead of making players waste countless hours of their life just to see stupid "experience points and resources numbers go up" and attempt to profit off us in such a disrespectful way. I stopped supporting them a long time ago. Keep burning bridges, and keep burning your company from within.

S2Killinit33d ago

Which UBI games did that? Im legit asking.

Chocoburger32d ago (Edited 32d ago )

Any game (be it Ubisoft or any other company) with an unnecessary shoe-horned in experience points system, endless resources collection, and a micro-trash-action store that sells you boosters that alleviate the grind.

They do it on purpose to nudge players towards spending more money, and its something I refuse to support. Nearly all modern Ubisoft games have experience points and skill trees these days, not because it makes the games better, but because it can potentially make them more money by exhausting people into giving in and buying boosters.

Assassin's Creed, Ghost Recon and more series are offenders of this game design blight.

S2Killinit32d ago

I see. And I agree. I dont like these trends either. Although I dont remember AC having paid upgrades (given that my last one was black flag)

Show all comments (19)