Ubisoft has introduced a new initiative called The Player Council, a soft‑launched platform that invites members of the gaming community to take part in playtesting and to share their thoughts straight with the studios that create the games. Built on top of the existing Ubisoft Connect service and integrated with the Games2Gether community network, the council is designed to give players early access to experimental ideas, prototype builds, and live updates for games that are already available on PC. In its initial rollout, The Player Council will feature four distinct projects.
Two of these are brand‑new prototypes: the multiplayer experiment codenamed "Split Point," which focuses on online competitive play, and the single‑player strategy title codenamed "Rook," which explores tactical decision‑making in a solo setting. The other two offerings are live‑service games that already have a player base – Riders Republic, the extreme‑sports open‑world title, and Atomega, a futuristic shooter that has not received a major update in nine years. By including both fresh concepts and established titles, Ubisoft hopes to gather a wide spectrum of feedback that can inform everything from core mechanics to post‑launch content pipelines.
Ubisoft explains that participation in The Player Council will let developers "test new ideas, gather player feedback and suggestions, and then make changes and develop future content based on community input." In practice, this means that once a player signs up, they can apply to join any of the active projects. If a developer approves the application, the tester receives access to the specific build, plays through it, and then submits structured feedback through the platform’s tools. The feedback loop is intended to be transparent: developers will also share insights into why certain design choices were made, how they evaluated player responses, and what iterations are planned moving forward. The program is free to join, but it does come with a requirement to sign a non‑disclosure agreement (NDA).
This is standard for any work that involves unreleased or confidential material. After completing the NDA, members are placed into an initial "Member Access" tier. As participants contribute more feedback and demonstrate a willingness to engage constructively, they can unlock higher tiers such as "Insider Access" and "Shaper Access." These advanced levels grant entry to more sensitive projects, earlier‑stage prototypes, and content that is not yet ready for the broader public.
This tiered structure incentivizes sustained involvement and rewards the most active community members with deeper insight into Ubisoft's development pipeline. One of the early highlights of the council is the planned update for Atomega. After nearly a decade without a major patch, the game is slated to receive its first substantive update through the council’s testing process.
By involving players directly in the testing phase, Ubisoft aims to fine‑tune the new features before they roll out to the entire player base, reducing the risk of bugs or balance issues. Looking ahead, Ubisoft has announced that two additional co‑op projects – codenamed "Decagon" and "Harlequin" – will be added to the roster later this year.
These titles will further expand the range of genres and gameplay experiences available for testing, from collaborative puzzle solving to narrative‑driven adventures. Ubisoft also assures that the platform will continue to grow, with new tools, prototypes, and even entirely new games being added as development cycles progress.
The company contextualizes The Player Council within a broader strategic shift. In a recent annual report covering the 2025/26 fiscal year, Ubisoft outlined a move toward a "more selective model" for publishing. Rather than relying heavily on the traditional blockbuster launch model for each new title, Ubisoft intends to lean more on its existing catalog and live‑service offerings to generate steady revenue. The report notes that releasing a game prematurely, or launching it simultaneously with competing high‑profile releases, can dilute its commercial impact.
By engaging the community early through The Player Council, Ubisoft hopes to mitigate those risks, ensuring that games are polished, well‑balanced, and aligned with player expectations before they hit the wider market. In summary, The Player Council represents Ubisoft's effort to democratize the playtesting process, giving dedicated fans a voice in shaping the future of both new and legacy titles.
Participants can sign up at no cost, provided they agree to confidentiality terms, and they will have the opportunity to influence game design, feature sets, and post‑launch content through a structured feedback system. As more projects are added and the tiered access model matures, the council could become a cornerstone of Ubisoft's development workflow, bridging the gap between creators and the community they serve.