Ubisoft claims Assassin’s Creed Mirage pop-up ads in other AC games were the result of a ‘technical error’

Some console players of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey encountered pop-up ads for Ubisoft’s Black Friday sale while playing the game. According to a Reddit video posted by u/triddell24, they stumbled upon an ad while opening the world map, filling the screen with a dismissable banner for Assassin’s Creed Mirage, which is currently available for 20% off. Clicking the “Buy Now” button will likely redirect you to the Mirage store page. Players online have expressed their frustration with in-game ads that interfere with gameplay. Publisher Ubisoft has since apologized for the pop-up and also said it was a “technical error”.

“It has come to our attention that yesterday some players were experiencing a pop-up message while playing certain Assassin’s Creed games. This was the result of a technical error that has now been fixed,” Ubisoft tweeted. The company denied claims that this was a deliberate way to sell more copies of Assassin’s Creed, adding that it was intended to appear in in-game menus across the franchise. However, the bug caused the promotion to appear in-game and disrupt the flow, leading many to compare it to mobile game ads that constantly push players to make microtransactions. However, a community note attached at the bottom of the tweet shows a similar incident from four years ago, when an Assassin’s Creed Odyssey player received pop-up ads when trying to open a map. In-game advertising is just as frowned upon, if not worse, than microtransactions, which only exist as a way to get more money from customers.

Both video game publishers and movie companies have experimented with ways to include pop-up ads over the years, despite having invented ways to consume content without ads. Netflix has been experimenting with cheaper, ad-supported alternatives in the US, which could be something that the live-action gaming service implements into its core model — it wouldn’t seem far-fetched, given that when you open a menu in something like Overwatch 2, you’re repeatedly forced to interact with combat passes and buy new cosmetics. Even Microsoft began including full-screen pop-up ads for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 upon booting up an Xbox console, regardless of whether someone already owned the game. There are clever ways for developers to promote their games – a great example is Remedy Entertainment, where they post posters and screenshots for their other games using banners, posters and computer screens in the world.

Earlier this month, Ubisoft confirmed that it is working on two new modes for Assassin’s Creed Mirage, which will be available as a free update in December. Although not explicitly mentioned, the New Game+ mode should allow players to return to ninth-century Baghdad as a defeated force, retaining any skill upgrades and weapon unlocks. I mentioned in my review how each update in Mirage made the already simple game easier, and for that Ubisoft is adding a permadeath mode available on all difficulty levels. The game is a throwback to the old Assassin’s Creed games, which focused on closed story and stealth assassinations, before the series made a detour into the open-world RPG format with AC Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla.

Both Assassin’s Creed Mirage and Odyssey are available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X.