Ubisoft Joins Open Gaming Alliance in a Bid to Better Understand PC Gamers

Ubisoft has gotten a well-deserved bad rep in PC gaming circles thanks to some slipshot PC ports of their most recent games. In fact, it’s hard to think of a recent release Ubisoft has ported that’s gone well… largely because it still intends on pushing uPlay as a thing, despite the fact it lacks the size of Steam, the charm of GoG, or the free stuff in EA Origins. Well, to further cement the fact they’re living in denial, the big U has recently announced that they are doubling down on their commitment to PC gaming by joining OGA, or Open Gaming Alliance--a PC-master race organization that promotes all kinds of PC Gaming superiority that boasts members such as Dell, Unity, Capcom, and PC Gaming (duh).

Ubisoft consumer and marketing director Sandrine Caloiaro had this to say:

“PC gamers are important to Ubisoft, and we’re committed to better understanding and addressing their needs and to continually improving our relationship with them. By joining the OGA, we’re able to glean gamer insights from their research, learn from best practices in our industry, and contribute to the group’s upcoming initiatives.”

A good idea in theory, but in practice, it may be too late for PC gamers to open their hearts to Ubisoft. Not only do they have uPlay dragging them down, they were also early adopters of DRM, have a spotty history actually porting games (oftentimes accusing piracy of preventing them from giving PC gamers an in-demand port) and when they do port something it’s very often buggy or unplayable.

Still, if the real intention is to figure out what PC gamers want, I have to both applaud Ubisoft on the effort and scold them on their deafness, as it should absolutely be no surprise at this point what they are doing wrong. Let’s hope that someone gets through that thick skull of theirs and this isn’t just a PR stunt to earn them some improved rep with the PC crowd.