Ubisoft has apologized after some Assassin’s Creed Odyssey console players encountered in-game pop-up ads for this year’s Assassin’s Creed Mirage as part of the company’s Black Friday Sale. Several Xbox and PlayStation gamers spotted the full-screen interruptions and reported them on Reddit. Per a video posted by Reddit user u/triddell24, the player was greeted with an advertisement when toggling open the world map, filling the screen with a dismissible banner for Assassin’s Creed Mirage, currently available at a 20 percent discount.
In a statement released to The Verge, Ubisoft said that the ad was meant to be displayed in the franchise’s main menu screens, but it “was mistakenly placed in-game yesterday evening” and has now been fixed. The pop-up was spotted by several players, including those playing the 2023 Greek adventure on the Xbox Series X and PS5.
While this may not have been an intentional promotion for Assassin’s Creed Mirage, many users weren’t happy about the ad interrupting their gameplay-immersive experience. One user compared it to mobile games’ annoying in-app purchases to promote their products to players. In response to the backlash, Ubisoft posted a tweet stating that the promotion for the game was “a technical error” and has since been corrected.
Ubisoft’s apology for the ad was met with skepticism by some fans, who pointed out that it wasn’t the first time the company had used in-game advertising to push for their products. The company also pushed a limited-time Assassin’s Creed DLC for Assassin’s Creed Origins in 2018, which some users complained about.
Mirage is the latest entry in the long-running Assassin’s Creed series and has been well-received by critics. Set in 9th century Baghdad, the game takes a different approach to the franchise’s usual open-world design and pares down the action to a more focused stealth-focused gameplay experience.
The 2023 release is available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, with a mobile version released later this year. Assassin’s Creed Jade, expected to arrive in 2024, will be the next mainline installment and will see the series move to China.
It’s still being determined if the promotional effort for Mirage will be expanded to other games within the franchise. However, given its success, Ubisoft would likely look to expand the campaign. The company is also set to launch a new installment in the Assassin’s Creed Chronicles subseries called Assassin’s Creed Victory, which will be a return to the series roots. Unlike previous Assassin’s Creed titles, Victory will be a single-player title. It will be released in October for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. A PC version will also be released in November. The new game will be a prequel to the current trilogy of games and will tell a story about the founding of the Assassin’s Order. Despite the differences, Victory will still be heavily influenced by the previous entries in the series and share some gameplay elements with Odyssey.
