Due to a technical error, a pop-up ad for the Assassin’s Creed Mirage Black Friday sale has appeared in AC game menus, according to Ubisoft
Assassin’s Creed Mirage is back in the spotlight after its October release, but this time for an unusual reason. Following online and social media posts from perplexed Assassin’s Creed players who encountered random pop-up advertisements related to Ubisoft’s Black Friday sale for Mirage, the developer has stated that these in-game ad encounters were unintentional and the result of a “technical error.”
While playing other games in Ubisoft’s action-adventure series, such as AC Odyssey, players were bombarded with annoying pop-up ads for Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s Black Friday sale while attempting to open in-game maps and menus. This full-screen ad gave you two choices: close the ad and continue playing your game, or buy Mirage.
In a X post, Ubisoft claims that the pop-up ad “was the result of a technical error,” and that the team has “fixed” the problem. The developer goes on to say that the Black Friday ad was intended 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,” rather than appear in-game.
The developer goes on to say that it wants to “ensure the best possible player experience,” admitting that the pop-ups were “disruptive” but were “promptly removed.” Ubisoft’s thread addressing the issue comes just a few days after viral posts from players encountering ads began to circulate online, with some receiving hundreds of replies.
Those who responded are skeptical of the developer’s explanation for the ads. Some players who commented on the developer’s thread speculated that Ubisoft was testing a new ad system and only removed it due to negative feedback from the community. Others believe the ads were a “marketing stunt,” and they want Ubisoft to be more “transparent.”
Older open-world games like Saints Row 2 featured in-game ads for real-world brands on virtual billboards, but this latest case is especially intrusive and was arguably never going to go down well, regardless of the reasoning.