The recent release of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, priced from $60, has been met with a wave of criticism on Steam, where the remake’s user reviews initially hovered at only 70% positive. While critical reception of the game itself has been largely favorable, a vocal segment of the player base has taken issue with the volume of paid downloadable content available from launch day.
Developer Response on Steam
Rather than issuing a formal company statement, Ubisoft chose to address the dissatisfaction directly within a negative Steam review. A developer responded by emphasizing that the core game is intact for all purchasers. “The standard edition is the full, complete experience. Every mission, every island, the full story and the complete world are all there, with nothing held back,” the message read. The developer added that the additional packs are “entirely optional extras for players who want them, never a requirement to enjoy or complete the game.”
Community Reaction and Pricing Details
This direct reply did little to quell the debate, particularly on forums such as Reddit. Much of the frustration stems from the structure and timing of the add-ons rather than the principle of their existence. There are currently five separate DLC packs, each priced at roughly $10. These bundles contain exclusive skins and weapons, some of which carry unique gameplay perks. Owners of the Deluxe Edition have expressed feeling especially shortchanged, as even that higher-tier purchase does not include access to all of the available content.
A Divided Player Base
Another group of players has pushed back against the intensity of the backlash, arguing that no fundamental gameplay or story missions are locked behind a paywall. They point out that this model of optional microtransactions has been an established industry practice at Ubisoft and other major publishers for years. From their perspective, as long as the complete narrative and world remain fully accessible without additional spending, the negative reviews targeting optional content packs appear disproportionate. The conversation continues to develop across community channels.
Sources: steamcommunity.com, store.steampowered.com