Ubisoft change in strategy?

Well this* could be interesting even though it looks like a mixture of facts, opinion and speculation and I can't find any other source for it. There's a lot about finances/shares but the parts I found interesting are:
- Day 1 for Steam: I can see why companies look at the share that Steam takes compared to other digital store fronts but you've got to ask how much does it hurt their overall sales even for the real big hitters.
- Paid early release to go: That's got to be a good thing and I find it really irritating that they are just look for another way to try and get more money out of you. The irony is it's quite possible that you pay to be a free tester and then when there's an emergence patch after a week for the main release you lose all the progress that you've made.
- Battle passes to go: This one seems a bit more sketchy on the details but it looks like it's going to be replaces with DLC's that you can buy when you want and pre-orders get the first one free.
If this is really what's happening then I think it's a good thing as even though I have very little interest in their games maybe it's the start of big companies seeing trying to screw money out of your customers at every turn isn't a great strategy and selling games that people just enjoying playing is. Of course it could be more just to get the share price up in the short term after it tanked this year.
Here's a quote** "Our second quarter performance fell short of our expectations, prompting us to address this swiftly and firmly, with an even greater focus on a player-centric, gameplay-first approach and an unwavering commitment to the long-term value of our brands."
*with an even greater focus on a player-centric, gameplay-first approach* - well that's a pretty low bar to meet!
The slightly depressing part is that if this is what's going to happen as a longer term strategy I'm basically pleased that a company isn't trying to wring as much money as possible out of people.
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2nc4C4nYL4
** https://staticctf.ubisoft.com/8aefmxkxpxwl/5U6140Jg0IaqobyAIIEawC/af3b587a1c81f379d57bc64eefdd0285/PR_Trading_update_25092024_final.pdf