Ubisoft's 60 FPS Patches Should Be More of a Standard

There are plenty of things to criticize Ubisoft for. The company makes it rather easy, given all of the boneheaded decisions it makes on a regular basis. Closing down two studios, delaying seven games, and canning six others is yet another recent example, especially when one of those ill-fated titles is a remake of a genre classic that deserves to be playable on more modern platforms. However, one area the publisher does surprisingly well in is supporting its older releases, as shown by the three old Far Cry games that just got updates on PS4 that makes them run better on PS5. It’s a small gesture but one more publishers should adopt.

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Far Cry 3, Primal, and Blood Dragon Are Just the Latest to Get Updates

A trio of simultaneous updates for Far Cry 3: Classic Edition, Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon Classic Edition, and Far Cry Primal that bump the frame rate up to 60 frames per second on PS5 may seem like a lot (and, to a degree, it is), but these three are just part of a bigger movement of Ubisoft games that have received similar updates. This list includes:

For Honor
Far Cry 4
Far Cry 5
Far Cry New Dawn
Assassin’s Creed Origins
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
The Crew 2
The Division
The Division 2
Ghost Recon Breakpoint

While there are some notable exceptions like the first two Watch Dogs games, Assassin’s Creed Unity, and Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection, it’s a pretty comprehensive lineup that covers most of Ubisoft’s biggest games from the previous generation that didn’t get a native current-gen port. The above list also just covers PlayStation; Ubisoft has many titles that also support FPS Boost on Xbox. Combined with the titles that got native patches, Ubisoft has even more games on Xbox that look and run better on modern hardware (which matches Xbox’s superior backwards compatibility strategy during this generation).

This kind of coverage across a publisher’s portfolio is almost unparalleled on consoles and draws attention to the many others that let their catalogs languish. Playing older games on newer systems and being stuck at 30 frames per second or 1080p is a little frustrating, and that’s quite common for many games, especially for ones that came out before the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X. Games that came after that era often get at least a little more of a natural boost when played on newer systems since many were often designed for a stronger console.

These free updates also demonstrate the power of a small technical bump. It’s not always necessary for a more substantial and premium remaster that has slightly better shadows and possibly a few exclusive goodies. Some recent remasters have had some solid extras like The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered’s excellent roguelike mode, but the free update Naughty Dog released to juice the PS4 original’s specs on PS5 were just fine, too. Even with a hefty list of fantastic free updates in this vein, PlayStation has particularly had an issue with charging for remasters when they are not much more than a slight technical upgrade and those often feel a little gross. Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection is the most egregious since it was such a blatant cash grab to coincide with the mediocre film. Ubisoft randomly releasing an patch for a 10-year-old game for no extra charge is the spiritual inverse of that.

Nintendo started out in a rough spot with the Nintendo Switch 2 since the two premium Zelda upgrades were laughably sparse, but the console maker has released free, Switch 2-ready updates for more than a handful of its best games. These games include (but are not limited to) ARMS, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening and Echoes of Wisdom, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario 3D World, Splatoon 3, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, and, most recently, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD. Given how underpowered the original Switch was — especially with regards to the Pokemon titles and Link’s Awakening — these simple patches go a long way.

More Publishers Should Follow Ubisoft’s Lead

Patches like this stick out because backwards compatibility is likely going to be a standard feature going forward. All three current consoles natively play almost every single game from their previous generations and share storefronts with those older systems, too. This means many older titles are going to be readily accessible for many, many years, which is great from a preservationist standpoint. But it’s always going to sting a little when downloading a game from 2014 that is locked at 30 frames per second.

It would be great if these kinds of small patches were more of a norm going forward for a wider array of publishers. Imagine Mortal Kombat X running at a higher resolution with snappier load times or Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled hitting a locked 60 frames per second like it was destined to. Even with all of the hubbub around a Bloodborne remaster or remake, a simple update to the existing PS4 version that enhanced the specs when played on PS5 would likely be enough for many. This is the most extreme example of a highly anticipated game that is begging for some sort of upgrade, but it speaks to the notion that many older games just deserve a patch like this so they can age more gracefully.

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