Assassin's Creed's "intrusive" ads anger fans

Ubisoft recently caused some friction for fans when it was discovered that a pop-up ad was appearing during gameplay sessions of Assassin's Creed Odyssey. Players took to social media to share their disappointment, calling for the frustrating ad to be removed to avoid the jarring break in immersion.

In an X post, Ubisoft responded to players stating that the pop-ups were a result of a "technical error", acknowledging that the issue was "disruptive" while thanking fans for their understanding, but despite the apology, many were still left feeling a little disappointed. (If you want to update your gaming set-up, check out our collection of the best gaming PCs).

The ad appeared as part of a 20% off Black Friday promotion for Assassin's Creed Mirage, which was supposed to appear in the main menu of the game, instead of interrupting the gameplay. The pop-up would instead appear when users tried to open the game's map, which many players felt was inappropriate and distracting. In response some fans took to Reddit, calling the move "intrusive" and "totally unacceptable."

"Our intention was to display a promotion for Assassin's Creed Mirage as part of the franchise news in the main menu of other Assassin's Creed games," says Ubisoft in an X post. "Unfortunately, this technical error caused the promotion to appear in one of our in-game menus instead. We want to ensure the best player experience possible, and these disruptive pop-ups were promptly removed once we learned of the issue," the company added. 

While the company was quick to respond to the negative feedback, X users took to Community Notes to highlight a similar pop-up distraction a few years ago (coincidentally also on AC Oddessy). Whatever the reason, the unwanted return of this mysterious "technical error" has certainly disappointed fans, despite Ubisoft's best efforts to damage control. 

This isn't the only recent occasion where we've seen Ubisoft subject to criticism. Take a look at the AI Assassin's Creed poster that gets worse the more you look at it.