Ubisoft Defends $85 In Day-One DLC As ‘Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced’ Draws Steam Backlash

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced has drawn strong reviews from critics and sold well since its release this week, but a wave of negative Steam reviews over its roughly $85 in day-one microtransactions has prompted Ubisoft to publicly defend the game’s monetization.

The remake’s Steam rating has fluctuated between “Mostly Negative” and “Mixed” since launch before recovering somewhat, even as the game reportedly set a Steam-release concurrent-player record for the franchise and sold roughly 2 million copies.

Priced at $59.99 — cheaper than the $69.99-to-$70 price point typical of day-one blockbusters — the game’s Steam page also lists roughly $85 worth of optional add-ons, including cosmetic outfits and ship decorations for protagonist Edward Kenway, alongside a $10 “map pack” that reveals collectible locations players would otherwise have to find themselves.

Player frustration has centered less on performance, though some reviews flagged a bug locking cutscenes to 30 frames per second, and more on value.

Some reviewers argued that even Deluxe Edition buyers, who paid extra for additional content, still saw dozens of dollars in further DLC advertised immediately upon booting up the game.

Others contrasted Ubisoft’s approach favorably with Rockstar’s upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI, which drew criticism for reportedly locking certain in-game content behind a $100 deluxe tier — something Ubisoft has emphasized its own DLC does not do.

Ubisoft’s support team began replying directly to negative Steam reviews this week, writing that it had been reading player feedback since launch and stressing that the standard edition represents “the full, complete experience,” with every mission, island and story beat included at no extra cost.

The company described the additional packs as “entirely optional extras,” never required to finish the game, a description that had drawn nearly 500 comments as the debate continued.

The controversy follows Ubisoft’s own past comments defending microtransactions in single-player games, including an assertion last year that such purchases can make games “more fun,” a characterization Dexerto noted was itself controversial among players.

The remake also omits a modern-day narrative thread that connected the original 2013 game to other entries in the series, a change some critics felt weakened its connection to the broader Assassin’s Creed story.