Ubisoft Won't Raise Game Prices For Next-Gen Consoles For Now

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot says the company is keeping the same pricing strategy for the next generation of games arriving later this year.

Polygon notes that during an earnings call on Wednesday, Guillemot specified that its “Christmas releases” would remain at $59.99, with no increase planned for now. This means that Ubisoft games coming to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will be priced like the games of current-generation consoles the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

For the past 15 years, video games have remained steady at $59.99 when the Xbox 360 was released in 2005. Prices didn’t increase even when the PS4 and Xbox One came out in 2013.

Ubisoft’s statement is in contrast to one made earlier by “NBA 2K21” publisher 2K Games that its next-gen basketball game would rise to $69.99. The Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, and Google Stadia’s version will remain $59.99.

2K Games also said that Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 players won’t get a free next-gen upgrade, like other publishers of cross-gen games are offering.

For many, 2K Games announcement of a $10 price increase meant an industry-wide price jump was inevitable. However, Ubisoft’s own stance indicates that there is no clear consensus between publishers regarding pricing.

It is possible still that Ubisoft will still increase prices for next-gen games which won’t have versions on current-gen consoles. During the call, Guillemot was careful in his wording that the focus for this pricing was on the games released this holiday season.

The publisher plans to release “Watch Dogs: Legion” and “Assassin’s Creed Valhalla” later this year on current and next-gen platforms.

It’s a common practice for third-party game publishers to set their own upgrades. These publishers are also usually free to decide whether or not they’ll include cross-generational upgrades for free, with several publishers looking to do just that.

CD Projekt Red will offer a free upgrade for “Cyberpunk 2077,” Crystal Dynamics will do so for “Marvel’s Avengers,” and Electronic Arts plans on doing that for two sports titles, “Madden NFL 21” and “FIFA 21,” says Polygon.

With its Smart Delivery feature, Microsoft has a system in place to do something similar. Still, neither Sony nor Microsoft have announced the pricing on their first-party games, indicating that no standard has been established as of yet.