Ubisoft claims Assassin’s Creed pop-up ads were due to a ‘technical error’ but players aren’t buying it

A Reddit post recently made the rounds and angered fans as it featured an in-game pop-up ad that interrupted the user while playing Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Following this, Ubisoft made a post on its X account on Nov. 24, stating that the ads were due to a “technical error” that has been fixed. 

On Nov. 22, Reddit user triddell24 posted a clip showing their Assassin’s Creed Odyssey gameplay being interrupted by an Assassin’s Creed Mirage Black Friday pop-up ad, specifically when they opened the game’s map. Several players were understandably furious at the clip, with many claiming that pop-up ads are “gross” and “unacceptable” even if the game was free, which it is not. Several players also said they would avoid the game due to the “greedy practice,” with some saying they would uninstall the game.

In response to the backlash,  Ubisoft made a statement on its X (formerly Twitter) account on Nov. 24, stating that “this was the result of a technical error that has now been fixed.” The publisher also claims that its 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,” but the error “caused the promotion to appear in one of our in-game menus instead.”

However, this statement did not seem to appease players at all. Many players commented under the post to express their disbelief and disappointment at the publisher. “Nah, you were just testing the waters and got immediate backlash,” said @notsorrycat. “You cannot claim that was an error; the system to display that pop-up was programmed into the game…” @NebulaJess added.

While we don’t know what caused the issue, Ubisoft also claims it is currently investigating the cause, so we just have to wait and see if the error stays resolved.