A recent viral clip showing pop-up ads in Assassin’s Creed Mirage promoting a Black Friday sale has sparked outrage among many in the playerbase. This anger has prompted a response from Ubisoft where the company claims that these ads were merely a technical error and not an intentional action taken by the developers.
Ubisoft doesn’t have the most glowing track record when it comes to the way the company treats its loyal players. It could be considered one of the “pioneering” companies when it comes to the current norm of AAA titles coming to market in an unfinished state, with some of the most notorious examples being Assassin’s Creed games like Unity and Origins. Still, the idea that the developer would shove in-game advertisements into its latest hit is a new low, and so Ubisoft is denying the notion that it was intentional.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage Pop-Up Ads
The clip that exposed the in-game pop-up ad was posted to Reddit on November 22nd and immediately picked up traction. Other users began to confirm finding the ads in their games when opening up the map, as well.
An Ubisoft representative spoke to The Verge on November 24th, stating “We have been made aware that some players encountered pop-up ads while playing a certain Assassin’s Creed titles yesterday. This was the result of a technical error that we addressed as soon as we learned of the issue.”
In Ubisoft’s defense, it does seem strange that the company would run an advertisement in a game about a sale currently running for that same game. Beyond that, however, the company’s statement doesn’t seem to hold much water. How does a “technical error” result in an ad placement in a video game? The quick removal of the ads is a respectable response, but the fears are still out there now that Ubisoft may be planning on bringing them back in some form.
