Report Shows Ubisoft Made Nearly $1M From Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced DLC

A new analytics report is putting numbers behind one of the biggest sticking points from the remake of a classic: Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced. While critics overall have been positive, the game’s launch-day DLC lineup has drawn backlash—and the data suggests Ubisoft still made close to $1 million from those early add-ons on Steam.

Day-one DLCs: how much money actually came from launch extras

On July 14, Alinea Analytics published a report focused on Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced on Steam. It credits the remake with a strong Steam debut—701K copies sold for $35M in gross revenue—then adds that day-one DLC contributed nearly an additional $1M.

The report also frames the DLC controversy: the remake launched last week with nine separate DLC packs on day one, most priced at roughly $10 each. In total, critics’ reception has been described as very positive, but Steam users were more split, with many reviews criticizing the sheer number of launch-day purchases.

• Steam sales: 701K copies, $35M gross revenue
• Extra from day-one DLC: almost $1M (per Alinea Analytics estimates)
• Launch included nine separate DLC packs, mostly around ~$10
• Steam user sentiment was more negative than critic reception at launch

What players were asked to buy on day one

The criticism is rooted in how the remake packaged optional content. Ubisoft’s earlier approach to paid launch add-ons in the original Assassin’s Creed Black Flag is a key comparison point: on October 29, 2013 launch day, players could purchase ship cosmetic packs, and PS3/PS4 buyers also received an exclusive DLC mission tied to Assassin’s Creed: Liberation’s protagonist Aveline de Grandpré.

That original release also included “time saver” items that revealed collectible and activity locations and unlocked multiplayer content that would otherwise be tied to progression.

In the remake, the day-one DLC controversy centered on the idea that buying everything would cost more than $80, given the presence of nine separate packs. The most commonly singled-out item in the Steam DLC breakdown was the $5 Map Pack, which reveals the locations of every collectible.

Ubisoft responded—and the attachment rates show why the debate persists

Ubisoft issued an official response the day after launch, addressing negative feedback about the DLCs. The statement emphasized that the standard edition is the “full, complete experience,” while the extra packs are optional and “never a requirement” to enjoy or complete the game.

Even with that stance, the analytics suggest the DLC model still generated meaningful revenue. Alinea Analytics estimates that 6.34% of Steam buyers purchased the $5 Map Pack. By comparison, none of the eight cosmetic packs reached an attachment rate higher than 2.65%.

That helps explain the shape of the backlash: players may be willing to pay for specific convenience or content visibility, but cosmetics appear to have drawn less uptake—while the overall pricing and number of packs remained a pressure point.

Big picture: small share of revenue, but not insignificant

According to the report, day-one DLC represented about 3% of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced’s total Steam revenue, meaning the base game is still carrying the majority of performance. Still, that 3% translates to nearly $1M in additional earnings from launch-day extras.

The analysis also limits what it can conclude: it only includes Steam figures and does not cover console sales. Ubisoft has confirmed that the remake has sold over 2 million copies across all platforms, so additional DLC revenue on PS5 and Xbox Series X is likely as well, though the report does not quantify it.

For players, the takeaway is less about whether DLC exists and more about how launch bundling affects trust: the numbers indicate that even widely criticized day-one content can produce real money—especially when one or two convenience-focused packs outperform cosmetics—while still leaving the wider community disputing whether the pricing structure is worth it at launch.