Ubisoft has removed a controversial sentence from its latest annual report that previously claimed in-game purchases in premium titles "make the player experience more fun."

Ubisoft has deleted the contentious phrasing from its new annual report. Game File revealed the change after comparing Ubisoft's 2025-2026 annual report with the previous year's document. Last year's report, under the business model and strategy section, stated: 'Premium in-game purchase offerings allow players to customize their avatars or progress faster, making the player experience more fun. However, this is always optional.' This passage drew immediate criticism from international media and gaming communities upon its release. In this year's 356-page report, that specific sentence has been entirely omitted.

However, mentions of monetization have not disappeared entirely. The principles that 'the golden rule of premium game development is to ensure the game can be fully enjoyed without additional spending' and that the company will respect the player experience and adopt a long-term, sustainable monetization policy have largely been retained. Since annual reports are documents intended for investors and management, significant portions of the text are recycled from the previous year. Consequently, any sentences added or removed are read as signals of what the company is actually prioritizing.

This suggests that Ubisoft is aware of the criticism surrounding that specific phrasing.

The new report also includes a new section regarding the risks of delayed game releases. In addition to the existing statement that releasing a game too early before it is sufficiently polished can lead to failure, Ubisoft added that releasing a game too late—when market anticipation has cooled and the title fails to meet market standards in a competitive environment—can also hinder success.

In fact, investor materials from last May noted that the initial performance of new titles like Rainbow Six and The Division Mobile has been sluggish. Beyond Good and Evil 2, first announced in 2008 and re-announced in 2017, remains in development.

Furthermore, positive performance is not guaranteeing job security. 'Assassin's Creed Black Flag Rethinked,' released on the 9th, recorded the highest concurrent player count in the series' history on Steam and became the highest-rated entry in over a decade with a Metacritic score of 84. Yet, reports have emerged that employees at Ubisoft Barcelona, who led the development, have been notified of layoffs.