On the heels of their foray into virtual reality with Assassin’s Creed Nexus, Ubisoft is tapping the brakes on further VR development due to underwhelming sales. Despite critical praise and positive user reviews, CEO Yves Guillemot says the install base remains too small to justify significant investment.
AC Nexus VR Warmly Received, But Sales Miss Targets
While Assassin’s Creed Nexus garnered strong reviews, including a 78 score on Metacritic and high user ratings on the Meta Quest store, Guillemot admits sales fell short of expectations.
Citing the need for the overall VR market to “grow enough,” he says Ubisoft won’t increase spending on new virtual reality projects for the time being. Guillemot was quick to praise advances like Apple’s high-end Vision One headset, but notes the $3,500 price tag keeps it an enthusiast product rather than a mainstream driver.
VR Adoption Still in Early Innings
The decision underscores the chicken-and-egg dilemma facing VR. With only around 2% of Steam users owning compatible headsets, the potential gaming market remains confined to early adopters. And with limited addressable audiences, risk-averse publishers are wary of investing heavily in bespoke VR experiences.
Ubisoft is unlikely to abandon VR game development entirely, having already cancelled an in-development Splinter Cell title in 2022. But Guillemot’s comments signal the company will take a wait-and-see approach until both hardware adoption and revenue potential show signs of meaningful expansion.
For now, virtual reality still appears one hardware cycle away from catalysing a richer content ecosystem to turn Ubisoft’s head.
