Is Buying Ahead for Ubisoft Games a Good Idea?
Is Buying Ahead for Ubisoft Games a Good Idea?
Over the last six months or so, Ubisoft heavily promoted The Division 2’s Private Beta through pre-purchase campaigns. I disregarded these promotional efforts for half a year, believing it illogical to buy a game solely to participate in a beta test five months ahead of release. However, my initial suspicion of being misled proved accurate. While I ultimately purchased the title and will receive it, the pre-order for the Private Beta felt like a brief, insignificant bonus—leaving me with less value than if I’d waited until just one week before the game's official launch. Initially, there was an Open Beta containing identical content plus substantially expanded features; this Open Beta surpassed the scope of the Private Beta. Furthermore, I missed out on complimentary promotional items included with the pre-order and cannot access early gameplay due to not acquiring the Gold Edition. Overall, it represented a regrettable investment when I’d rather have been enjoying titles like Far Cry Primal or Ghost Recon Wildlands.
I recently recalled that I possess 575 Ubisoft points intended for in-store redemption—yet, I've never succeeded in utilizing them. These points are consistently unredeemable. Ubisoft appears to be as problematic as Electronic Arts, according to my opinion. Though I don’t frequently engage with games and prefer a short period of play (around two weeks) before moving on, I understand that Ubisoft and EA also have issues regarding microtransactions.
That's incredibly frustrating. I really enjoyed The Division after the 1.5 update – that’s how the game should have launched initially, and I was excited about the sequel coming out just days before my birthday, intending it as a personal gift. However, the open beta was deeply disappointing. The visuals appear inferior to the first game, and the difficulty is terribly uneven; it went from being remarkably simple when playing alone to nearly as challenging as a four-player raid from the original. I noticed an advertisement promoting preorders and receiving a new Ubisoft title, leading me to believe that if they needed to offer free games to encourage preorders, the product must be subpar. I’ll hold off for a year after release and purchase the definitive edition for $20 to continue playing…
That's incredibly frustrating. Honestly, I really enjoyed The Division after the 1.5 update – that’s how the game should have launched initially, and I was excited about the sequel coming out just a couple of days before my birthday, intending it as a personal gift. However, the open beta was deeply disappointing. The visuals appear inferior to the first installment, and the gameplay difficulty is terribly uneven; it went from being remarkably simple when playing alone to almost as challenging as a four-player raid from the original game. I noticed the advertisement promoting preorders and free Ubisoft games, leading me to believe that the product itself must be subpar. I’ll hold off for a year after its release and purchase the definitive edition for $20 to continue the narrative.
After dedicating several weeks to *The Division* (the initial installment), I ceased playing due to its excessive repetition. I felt like I repeated the same missions repeatedly, perhaps between 5 and 10 times, without fully advancing my character’s level. That's when I stopped. While I don’t always possess extensive knowledge of game mechanics, if I found myself replaying familiar content once or twice a week, I would abandon the game. The overarching narrative intrigued me, though I considered the smaller side quests somewhat disappointing compared to the larger strategic elements. Furthermore, I concurred that the visuals were subpar in *The Division 2*, requiring up to 10GB of video memory and 13GB of system RAM on my 1080 Ti at times.
However, I’d like to step away from my criticism regarding the game itself. I purchased the game and don’t wish to diminish its enjoyment for others. I simply dislike that I reserved a highly awaited private beta which ultimately represented only a limited segment of what the public beta provided. Furthermore, I receive no complimentary copy or expedited access to the complete version.
Paying/pre-ordering for a beta is just bad practice anyway. Its meant for content creators who can brag about their videos being earlier than anyone else and getting that revenue first.
For a typical buyer, not so much.
You dont really stand to gain anything from it, so why bother?
Yes, I concur. I filmed a video and planned to upload it to YouTube, but work and school commitments prevented me from doing so. My Google account isn’t eligible for monetization, though I enjoy sharing content.
It appears this particular game might incorporate our Beta footage into the final version. Following the Private Beta and repeating the same experience during the Open Beta, coupled with the knowledge that I'll need to do it again when the full game is released, represents a significant amount of duplicated gameplay. I’m hoping to genuinely enjoy playing through several hours of content I’ve already experienced—twice.