Ubisoft has found itself in a tricky situation. The publisher is going through the aftermath of a serious company reshuffle last year, which saw the company cancel several games and let go of many developers across the company. Since them, the company has refocused itself on some core franchises and titles, hoping to rediscover some of the magic of their older releases.
That strategy has worked so far with Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced, the long-awaited remake of the fan favorite entry in the franchise. That seems to have even given the company more confidence in remakes as a primary release strategy. However, that can’t become the publisher’s primary focus with game development, as that strategy has a built-in limit on how long it’ll work. While Ubisoft’s other plans are ambitious to say the least, they at least could help keep the company thriving in a way a full remake culture simply can’t.
Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced has been a huge success for Ubisoft, earning the franchise its best sales in over a decade. In fact, the last time an Assassin’s Creed game earned this much at launch, it was the original Black Flag. As reported by Insider Gaming, this positive news is reinforcing the belief of many people at the publisher that remakes are the key to the future. During the Q1 FY27 earnings call for Ubisoft, the publisher’s Chief Financial Officer Frédérick Duguet argued that remakes are worth the investment because marketing a known quantity is less expensive thanks to built-in audience recognition, as well as lowered development costs due to reused content. This is why the company seems to be focusing on remakes and reimaginings of established properties instead of trying to take risks or establish new IP.
Ubisoft is already seemingly embracing this direction, with new remakes like Rayman Legends Retold also currently in the works. While the company hasn’t said that it’s phasing out new entries in older franchises, the success of the remake and Ubisoft”s apparent embrace of that direction bodes poorly for gamers hoping to see the publisher push itself or take on different titles. On the surface, Ubisoft’s comments about remakes have been somewhat validated by Black Flag Resynced‘s success. Not only did it appeal to older gamers nostalgic for the original, but it also brought in younger audiences who may have missed the game when it debuted. It’s been a solid success for the publisher during a period where it really needed one. However, it can’t be the only path forward for the company if it wants to sustain itself, as there’s a certain limit of how well the remake well can be revisited before it stops coming back with hits.
Ubisoft has plenty of major marquee franchises under its umbrella. Those properties have only really thrived because developers have been able to use to notierty of their properties to experiment in terms of form and functionality. Look at the Assassin’s Creed series, which thrived when it would expeirment with setting and gameplay mechanics by shifting to different time periods. Games like Far Cry 3 became hits because they were known properties, but also because the developers infused the game with a dizzying amount of depth. Even if the publisher is going to be returning to familar waters by embracing older franchises than testing out new concepts, there still needs to be new blood to keep players engaged. If it’s just the same material over and over, there will be seriously diminishing results.
While the biggest Ubisoft franchises may have been in a rut in recent years compared to the heights of the past, the decision to commit to remakes has a limit on how many times it will work. Inevitably, there won’t be enough notable games to remake, leaving the studio with fewer newer franchises or bold directors for established fare to take. It’s also a space that can quickly become outmoded by graphical output hitting a certain limit. There’s a point where remakes can’t do much beyond updating graphics, and even that might be coming to an end due to the way current gamers don’t seem driven by pure spectacle that comes with enhanced graphics. With more gamers flocking to mobile platforms and the indie scene thriving thanks to services like Steam, an old classic getting a fresh coat of paint isn’t going to be enough to win over fans forever.
The remakes may be a way to make money in the short term, but Ubisoft still needs to keep pumping new blood into their properties and testing out new concepts. If it fails to do so, I’m afraid that it won’t be long before Ubisoft has remade all the games that fans have actually been clamoring for, leaving them with little new material to build upon. Even then, not every remake will likely reach the same level of success as Resynced, a game fans have been specifically clamoring for. There’s only so far remakes can go as a business model. Ubisoft can be happy with the success of the Black Flag remake, but it can’t become the default plan for the publisher’s future.
