The free-to-play model will influence all of Ubisoft's future games, the publisher said in an investor conference call, according to VentureBeat. Ubisoft discussed the success of free-to-play titles, and the possibilities of the model changing traditional games in the next generation of consoles.
"In the future, with games like Sleeping Dogs, we could see more opportunity for $60 games to learn from the free-to-play model," said Ubisoft's chief financial officer Alain Martinez. "The next generation will offer more and more item-based content. This will benefit our games' profitability."
The game publisher also believes that the free-to-play model will allow the company to reach a wider audience that actually spend more on games than the traditional gamer.
"Free-to-play is a very flexible business model," said Stéphanie Perotti, Ubisoft's worldwide director of online. "The player has the capability to spend more than in a traditional model."
For example the company used its game The Settlers 7, which was the last retail edition of the long running strategy franchise. The game is currently available in five different languages and in 28 countries. The Settlers Online is a free, online browser-based version similar to the original game, and is available in nine languages, with more to come. The online version of the game has been more successful for Ubisoft.
"The Settlers Online is set to make more money in four years than the Settlers brand did on PC over nine years," Perotti said.
Ubisoft expects to earn $64.4 (€50) to $77.2 (€60) million from free-to-play and casual games in its 2013 fiscal year. The company has many free-to-play games planned and has already launch the free-to-play online shooter Ghost Recon Online. Check out the new Assassin's Creed 3's 'Boston Tea Party' trailer here.
