UPDATE: Ubisoft has provided Game Rant with a statement about specific third party applications.
“Our customer support teams released an article more than three years ago detailing some recommended steps for players to try as a starting point for troubleshooting – it has been removed to prevent confusion. It is not our recommendation that players discontinue use of any specific PC applications unless they are experiencing an issue.”
There is nothing more frustrating for gamers than when a new release runs suboptimally, even if it's being played on a brand-new PC. While later patches often rectify such issues, by optimizing game performance, there are some things which hang around that many blame for things like poor frame rate. The DRM software is often the source of issues for many gamers, with some studios now removing it entirely. Despite this, Ubisoft thinks that performance issues in video games does not come from its DRM, but from other software running in the background.
According to a report, which references a tweet from Ubisoft posted a few days ago, when players notice that the company's games are running less than optimal, it's most likely due to third-party software that's open as well. The tweet then links to a help page on the company website, which tells people how to disable background applications, and/or how to perform a "clean boot" on a system.
The report goes on to list what Ubisoft thinks are the main causes of any stuttering issues within its own games. Chief among them are some popular programs that many utilize on a daily basis, like gaming chat client Discord, as well as Skype. It's also possible, according to the studio, that torrent software, such as BitTorrent or uTorrent could be the cause of such issues, or even streaming applications like OBS. It even says that things like f.lux, an application that dims the screen to make viewing at nighttime less of a strain on the eyes, could also impact game performance.
What's interesting about this is that nowhere does Ubisoft say that the likes of Denuvo could be part of the problem, despite the DRM anti-tamper software being known to affect frame rate during play. In fact, when Shadow of the Tomb Raider had Denuvo removed recently, a benchmark test showed that the game was running much smoother. There was also the incident of a Resident Evil Village fan removing the DRM technology, which resulted in similar improvements to the game's performance.
Given the notable problems with Assassin's Creed: Valhalla upon release, many are not convinced that the programs Ubisoft lists are the cause of any performance issues during play. Some have hit back, replying to the tweet that it sounds like the company just wants gamers to use its own brand of software, such as the Ubisoft Connect launcher. The company has something of a reputation for releasing games that are buggy and perform poorly on launch day, so many people commenting feel the studio is simply trying to pull the wool over their eyes.
Source: DSO Gaming