Ubisoft is once again at the center of a controversy over game ratings. In early 2026, the company again used the term ‘quad-A’ to describe titles from its main franchise. The revelation came through the LinkedIn profile of the company’s producer, Krasimira Yakovlieva, who described her work on ‘Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ and ‘Assassin’s Creed Mirage’ as ‘AAAA’ development. This happened throughout last year and continued until recently, when the profile was edited after criticism on social media. The situation is relevant because it reignites the debate about marketing and expectations in the industry, especially after the critical and commercial failure of ‘Skull and Bones’, which Ubisoft itself promised would be the world’s first ‘quad-A’ game.
How did this come to light? Screenshots of Yakovlieva’s profile began circulating online, showing that she called ‘Shadows’ ‘the first next-gen AAAA title released natively on macOS’. Similarly, she described ‘Mirage’ as ‘the first AAAA title released natively on iPhone and iPad’. However, due to negative public reaction, which still remembers the unfulfilled promises with ‘Skull and Bones’, the description was quickly removed. This makes it clear that the company uses the term internally but avoids public backlash.
What does ‘Quad-A’ mean in practice?
Ubisoft’s insistence on creating a category above the standard ‘triple-A’ generates more confusion than clarity. However, the choice of games from the Assassin’s Creed saga is not random. ‘Shadows’, released in 2025, was a commercial and critical success, leading sales in its release year. On the other hand, ‘Mirage’ had a more lukewarm reception, seen by many as an expansion of ‘Valhalla’ adapted to be a standalone game. Therefore, calling both ‘quad-A’ sounds like a marketing exaggeration, unnecessarily increasing pressure on developers and player expectations.
Internally, the term likely serves to designate the studio’s highest-budget and absolute priority projects, which are almost always the Assassin’s Creed franchise games. Despite this, for the public and the press, all major releases from studios like Ubisoft, EA, and Activision already fit perfectly into the ‘triple-A’ category. Thus, the attempt to differentiate itself sounds artificial. The quick removal of the term from the producer’s profile shows that, in the post-Skull and Bones world, Ubisoft knows this is a perception battle it will not win.
In the end, what matters to the Brazilian player is the quality of the experience, not the marketing label. With ‘Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ established as a success, Ubisoft’s focus for the franchise’s future should be on delivering engaging stories and rich worlds, without relying on exaggerated classifications. After all, a good game stands on its own merits, not on extra letters in an acronym.
