Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced DLC Earned Nearly $1M on Day One, Study Claims
A fresh analytics write-up is putting a spotlight on the ongoing DLC debate around Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, claiming the remake has pulled in close to $1 million specifically from day-one downloadable content. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced arrived last week with a total of nine separate DLC releases at launch, most priced at roughly $10, and the add-ons have already fueled one of the title’s earliest controversies.
When the original Assassin’s Creed Black Flag first hit shelves, it already included some paid launch-day extras. On its release date, October 29, 2013, early buyers of Black Flag could pick up multiple ship cosmetic packs. Players purchasing the game on PS3 and PS4 also received an extra DLC mission tied to Assassin’s Creed: Liberation’s lead character, Aveline de Grandpre. There were also “time saver” DLC options that exposed the whereabouts of collectibles and in-game activities, plus they immediately unlocked multiplayer content that is usually gated behind normal progression.
The assessment of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is being framed as evidence that Ubisoft is repeating a strategy it has already been criticized for, despite years of backlash.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced Has Made Almost $1 Million from Day-One DLC
On July 14, Alinea Analytics published a report focused on the Steam performance of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced. The report opens by describing the game as “a much-needed win for Ubisoft on Steam,” pointing to sales of 701K copies for $35M in gross revenue, alongside nearly $1M more from day-one DLC.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
A major criticism around Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced at launch is the sheer number of day-one DLC items. Many players argued that collecting all nine separate packs would push the total cost above $80. Even so, critical response has reportedly been strong overall, with the game holding a Top Critic Average of 86 on OpenCritic. Steam user feedback, however, reportedly leaned more negative, with numerous reviews calling out dissatisfaction with the DLC rollout.
The day after launch, Ubisoft issued a response to the complaints. The company’s message stated: “The standard edition is the full, complete experience… The additional packs are optional extras for players who want them, never a requirement to enjoy or complete the game.”
Even with the widespread negative reaction, the report suggests Ubisoft still earned significant revenue from the day-one DLC. Alinea Analytics estimates that the publisher made almost $1 million from these launch add-ons, with the top seller identified as the $5 Map Pack, which reveals the locations of every collectible in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced. The report claims 6.34% of Steam buyers purchased that specific DLC. By contrast, none of the eight cosmetic packs reportedly reached an attachment rate higher than 2.65%.
As the analysis notes, these day-one DLC offerings represent only 3% of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced’s total Steam revenue, but the extra income still adds up to that near-$1M figure. The write-up also limits itself to Steam sales and includes no console-specific data for the remake. Even so, Ubisoft has confirmed that Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced has sold more than 2 million copies across all platforms, which implies additional DLC revenue may have come from PS5 and Xbox Series X editions as well.
