Ubisoft UK: People are playing fewer games and new releases are struggling

Popular publisher and developer Ubisoft has published a damning report about the state of the video game industry. The company highlights consumer spending and playing habits changing with the advent of higher game prices, costlier development costs. video game streaming, free-to-play games, games as a service, and video game subscription services like Game Pass and PlayStation Plus Extra. Ubisoft says because of these factors people are playing fewer games than they had been and are playing them for longer, which is making the AAA game space a volatile market.

“The traditional ‘full game’ model of selling a single £50-60 game to a consumer as a one-time purchase continues to become less ubiquitous, with Multi Game subscription services, long running Games As A Service titles, Free To Play games and Cloud Streaming offers all providing new and attractive ways for consumers to access gaming content.”

“Consumers are playing fewer games, playing them for longer, and as a result, outside of a few notable exceptions, many new games are struggling to stand out and achieve the sales they may once have had, whilst the market is more volatile and the potential for any specific title less predictable as a result,” it continues.