Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla launched last month to positive reviews and successful early launch figures. In Wccftech’s review, Francesco wrote:
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is a definite step up for the series, thanks to the many tweaks made to the RPG mechanics that powered the previous two entries in the series, better storytelling, great atmosphere, and meaningful side-content. Even with the tweaks, however, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is still an Assassin’s Creed game at heart, so those who are not into the Ubisoft open-world game design will hardly change their opinion with the game. Everyone else will probably love every second of Eivor’s adventure, especially if they are into Vikings and ancient Norse culture.
The latest installment in the open world franchise even managed to beat Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War in the UK launch week sales, and Ubisoft would go on to state that Assassin’s Creed Valhalla set a new record for franchise sales, all the while marking another overall record for the publisher when it comes to sales of a new PC game.
As spotted by Game Informer, though, the in-game store now features a new ‘Utility’ item that unlocks a permanent 50% XP boost that’s valid throughout all save games.
Game Informer contacted Ubisoft about this addition and received the following response from a spokesperson:
As more and more post-launch content becomes available, we want to give the option to players to advance their progression. Utilities allow players who lack the time to fully explore the world of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla to be able to acquire the game’s best gear, as well as other items, by accelerating their progress. For instance, these players can purchase maps that uncover some interesting locations in the world, but would still have to visit and play them to get their rewards.
Now, of course, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is a single-player only title, which means there is no real ‘Pay to Win’ concern involved. This can be considered to be similar to a game cheat, and those have always existed, though of course whenever there’s real money involved controversy ensues.
What do you think, Wccftech readers? Is it acceptable that developers offer paid ‘utilities’ such as permanent XP boosts in a single player game such as Assassin’s Creed Valhalla?
