Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced’s controversial $85 collection of day one DLC earned Ubisoft an extra $1 million on Steam, it’s been reported.
That’s according to Alinea Analytics’ Rhys Elliott, who has published detailed sales information for the game’s PC release. Ubisoft itself has officially trumpeted 2 million sales of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced across all platforms in just 24 hours.
While the game itself has been warmly received, fans have been less impressed by its optional extra packs, which total a collective $85 — more than the game itself.
“Come on Ubisoft you just couldn’t hold yourself huh?!” wrote one player via Steam. “Releasing a 70 euro game and on the DAY of the release you slap us with 85 euros worth of DLC packs that are just not cosmetic but give you a gameplay advantage this is why piracy exist and I will be refunding!”
Backlash at the offering has dragged down the game’s Steam user review average, with many players upset at the principle of Ubisoft launching Resynced with a more expensive DLC collection than the cost of the base game, as well as the fact that Resynced also highlights these extra packs to players in-game via a pop-up message.
The cheapest of these extra packs, the $4.99 Map Pack, reportedly has a 6.34% Steam attach rate — meaning that around 1 in 15 of players purchased it. (The pack, a mainstay of Assassin’s Creed releases, highlights in-game collectibles without the need to discover their locations manually.)
Fewer people purchased the game’s various $9.99 cosmetic packs, with an attach rate for each around 2% — around 1 in 50 players. These provide premium skin packs for either Edward Kenway himself or his Jackdaw ship, though offer no real gameplay advantage. Still, for an extra $1m in revenue, you can see why Ubisoft keeps making them.
“We’ve seen your feedback since launch, and we’re reading all of it,” a Ubisoft community spokesperson said in a response to the DLC backlash last week. “Thank you for caring this much about Black Flag Resynced. We want to be clear on one point: 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 additional packs are entirely optional extras for players who want them, never a requirement to enjoy or complete the game. We’ll keep listening as you play!”
“More than just a shinier version of the same game you remember, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced brings what was already one of the best games in the series up to today’s standards,” IGN wrote in our Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced review, rating the game 9/10.
Before you dive into the Golden Age of Piracy, check out our guides on things to do first and tips and tricks to help Edward Kenway’s journey be a smooth one. As you explore the Caribbean, make sure you don’t miss a single collectible, especially the shanties to keep you and your crew entertained on the high seas. Blow other ships to smithereens with our naval combat guide and save Reales for your next Jackdaw upgrade to be the mightiest pirate you can be.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
