Ubisoft has introduced a new service called The Player Council, a playtesting platform that gives members of the gaming community the opportunity to try out unfinished ideas, prototypes, and even live updates for existing titles, and then share their thoughts straight with the creators. This initiative is being rolled out in partnership with Ubisoft Connect and the community hub Games2Gether, and it aims to create a more collaborative loop between players and developers. The initial soft launch of The Player Council includes four distinct projects.
Two of these are brand‑new prototypes that are still in the early phases of development. The first prototype, codenamed "Split Point," is an online multiplayer experience that explores novel mechanics for competitive play.
The second prototype, "Rook," is a single‑player strategy game that focuses on tactical decision‑making and resource management. In addition to these experimental builds, the platform also offers live testing opportunities for two already released PC games: Riders Republic, the extreme‑sports open‑world title, and Atomega, a futuristic shooter that has not seen a major update in nine years.
By participating in the Atomega test, players will be among the first to experience the upcoming content that Ubisoft plans to ship after nearly a decade of inactivity for that franchise. Ubisoft explains that the purpose of The Player Council is to "test new ideas, gather player feedback and suggestions, and then make changes and develop future content based on community input." In other words, the company wants to let the community act as a sounding board for both fresh concepts and long‑running live services. Looking ahead, Ubisoft has announced that two additional cooperative projects will join the platform later this year. These are currently referred to as "Codename Decagon" and "Codename Harlequin," and they will expand the range of genres and play styles available for testing, further enriching the pool of data that developers can draw from.
Signing up for The Player Council is free of charge, but prospective testers must agree to a non‑disclosure agreement (NDA) before they can access any material. Once registered, users can submit applications to the various projects that interest them. If a developer accepts a player’s application, that individual gains the ability to download the build, play through it, and submit detailed feedback through the platform’s integrated tools. Feedback is not a one‑way street.
Participants are grouped with other testers so they can discuss their experiences, propose improvements, and debate design choices. At the same time, developers commit to sharing insights about how they interpret the feedback, what trade‑offs they consider, and how they iterate on the game based on the community’s input. This transparent dialogue is intended to demystify the development process and give players a clearer picture of why certain decisions are made.
Ubisoft has made it clear that there are no hidden fees for testing prototypes. For live‑content testing, the only requirement is that the participant already owns the game in question.
This means that a Rider Republic owner can join the test without purchasing anything extra, while an Atomega fan can similarly contribute to the upcoming update without additional cost. The platform uses a tiered system to reward active contributors.
All new members start at the "Member Access" level, which grants them basic testing privileges. As players submit more feedback and demonstrate constructive engagement, they can unlock higher tiers. The "Insider Access" tier offers a deeper look at more sensitive projects, while the top‑tier "Shaper Access" provides the chance to work on very early‑stage concepts that are not yet public.
These tiers are designed to incentivize sustained participation and to ensure that the most dedicated community members have a voice in shaping the future of Ubisoft’s games. Ubisoft also hints that The Player Council will continue to grow, with new tools, features, prototypes, and even whole games being added over time. The company sees the platform as a living ecosystem that will evolve alongside its portfolio, allowing it to tap into player sentiment on an ongoing basis rather than relying solely on post‑launch patches or community forums. The launch of The Player Council follows Ubisoft’s broader strategic shift announced last month, where the publisher said it would move toward a "more selective model" for releasing new titles.
Instead of depending heavily on blockbuster launches, Ubisoft plans to lean on its extensive back‑catalog and live‑service titles to generate revenue. The rationale behind this shift is articulated in the company’s 2025/26 annual report, which warns that releasing a game prematurely, or at a time when it must compete with other major releases, in‑game events, or surprise updates, can severely diminish its commercial impact. By involving players early through The Player Council, Ubisoft hopes to mitigate those risks, ensuring that games are more polished, better received, and aligned with what the community actually wants. In summary, The Player Council represents Ubisoft’s effort to build a more collaborative development pipeline.
It provides a structured environment where players can experiment with nascent ideas, influence live‑service content, and see the direct impact of their feedback. For developers, it offers a valuable source of real‑world data and a clearer understanding of player preferences. As the platform matures, it could become a model for how large publishers engage with their audiences, turning playtesting from a peripheral activity into a core component of the game‑making process.