Ubisoft predicts opportunities to pair microtransactions with $60 games

Future Ubisoft games could offer in-game purchases after taking an initial $60 chomp of your wallet. GamesBeat says during an investor call, Ubisoft CFO Alain Martinez and Worldwide Online Director Stéphanie Perotti acknowledged the "flexibility" of free-to-play business models and the "opportunity" for full-priced games offering microtransactional items.

"With games like Watch Dogs, we could see more opportunity for $60 games to learn from the free-to-play model," Martinez added. "The next generation will offer more and more item-based content. This will benefit our games' profitability."

Ubisoft has a less-than-stellar reputation on the PC, but its outlook on harnessing the free-to-play model -- especially the rising go-to strategy of implementing item shops -- isn't untested (see: Mass Effect 3). I just hope I won't see a single polka-dotted bandana mask in Watch Dogs.

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Omri Petitte is a former PC Gamer associate editor and long-time freelance writer covering news and reviews. If you spot his name, it probably means you're reading about some kind of first-person shooter. Why yes, he would like to talk to you about Battlefield. Do you have a few days?