I'm getting incredibly bad audio quality on PC and can't seem to improve it. It sounds like the characters are talking through tin cans. I didn't have this issue in either Origins or Odyssey.

What I've tried so far:

Verify game files
Updated audio drivers
Tried with three different headsets (Bose QC25, Bose QC 35 II, random Skullcandy in-ear earphones)

The sound quality is so bad that it's completely taking me out of the experience. It sounds like something you could expect out of a 90s RPG or $5 indie game.

Does anyone else have this problem?

My PC specs are:

CPU: Ryzen 3700x
GPU: Sapphire RX 5700xt Nitro+
MoBo: MSI B450m Gaming Plus
2 x 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws @ 3200mhz

As said, no problems in other games.

Feels bad, man.

@ubi-nacho

Let's be honest here (and no hate, because I know you're just the messenger): if it hasn't been fixed in the last year, me adding a report to an issue that we all know the cause of, isn't going to make a difference.

The audio files were compressed/lowered in quality to save on disk space. We all know that this is the problem. Like I said, nobody I know who has played the game, has not complained about the poor quality of the audio. This isn't something the developers need to investigate or attempt to reproduce. They just need to fire up the game and they'll hear it for themselves. The only thing that the developers have to do at this point, is release an optional HD Audio pack with higher quality sound files. That's it. There's no investigation needed, because the issue is apparent and has been known since the game's release. The issue can't be fixed on the client's side. It's just unnecessary time-wasting to suggest that people try.

All we need from Ubisoft at this point is an acknowledgement of whether you're going to fix this or not. And by the fact that Ubisoft is still "investigating" the issue a year later (when Ubisoft is probably already on the verge of dropping support for the game), I think most of us already know the answer to that question. We just need official confirmation that it is not financially worth it to Ubisoft to fix the problem, so that we can move on from this and decide whether to ever buy Ubisoft games again. Stringing us along like this is not doing us or Ubisoft any favors.

@ubi-borealis Do you have any feedback on whether the development team even considers it a bug that they will fix?

@jakeo10 The low audio quality issue in AC Valhalla was also picked up by media outlets and was complained about all over social media. Ubisoft still hasn't bothered to fix it.

I really hope that they fix this issue, because it's ruining the game for me and I've stopped playing entirely until something is done about it. But this is Ubisoft. Their track-record is garbage.

I'll also mention that there is currently an ongoing thread about the sound quality issues in AC Valhalla, that was opened shortly after release and a year later the Ubisoft reps in that thread are still telling people that they're "investigating" and asking for bug reports. So there definitely is a precedent for stringing users along for bugs they won't acknowledge as bugs and don't intend to fix.

I'll also mention that there is currently an ongoing thread about the sound quality issues in AC Valhalla, that was opened shortly after release and a year later the Ubisoft reps in that thread are still telling people that they're "investigating" and asking for bug reports. So there definitely is a precedent for stringing users along for bugs they won't acknowledge as bugs and don't intend to fix.

@ubi-borealis Do you have any feedback on whether the development team even considers it a bug that they will fix?

@dawu11 No. Why would Ubisoft employees play their own games? They're so broken and buggy! xD

@fireice38 They could at the very least confirm whether it is considered a bug by the dev team or whether it is an intentional feature. That alone will give us an indication on the chances of this being fixed or not. All they said is that they're passing the feedback on to the dev team, not whether the dev team has any intention to fix it or even how high on their priority list it is (it should be near the top, imo).

@jakeo10 The low audio quality issue in AC Valhalla was also picked up by media outlets and was complained about all over social media. Ubisoft still hasn't bothered to fix it.

I really hope that they fix this issue, because it's ruining the game for me and I've stopped playing entirely until something is done about it. But this is Ubisoft. Their track-record is garbage.

Ubisoft is probably deciding whether the issue is serious enough to fix or not. Remember that in AC Valhalla, many people complained about the poor audio quality of the game. They've been promising us since release that they're "looking into it" and there's still no fix.

Same will happen here. Ubisoft is weighing whether it's profitable to fix this bug or not. Chances are it's not, because the game has been out for a week and sales aren't going to start increasing once this issue is fixed. It's just how Ubisoft works. Nothing is done if there isn't some way to profit from it.

@ubi-nacho

Let's be honest here (and no hate, because I know you're just the messenger): if it hasn't been fixed in the last year, me adding a report to an issue that we all know the cause of, isn't going to make a difference.

The audio files were compressed/lowered in quality to save on disk space. We all know that this is the problem. Like I said, nobody I know who has played the game, has not complained about the poor quality of the audio. This isn't something the developers need to investigate or attempt to reproduce. They just need to fire up the game and they'll hear it for themselves. The only thing that the developers have to do at this point, is release an optional HD Audio pack with higher quality sound files. That's it. There's no investigation needed, because the issue is apparent and has been known since the game's release. The issue can't be fixed on the client's side. It's just unnecessary time-wasting to suggest that people try.

All we need from Ubisoft at this point is an acknowledgement of whether you're going to fix this or not. And by the fact that Ubisoft is still "investigating" the issue a year later (when Ubisoft is probably already on the verge of dropping support for the game), I think most of us already know the answer to that question. We just need official confirmation that it is not financially worth it to Ubisoft to fix the problem, so that we can move on from this and decide whether to ever buy Ubisoft games again. Stringing us along like this is not doing us or Ubisoft any favors.

So it's been almost a year since release. Is this problem ever going to be fixed or are the devs just going to keep promising and never delivering? Everyone I know who played this game complained about the low quality audio that sounds like it was recorded on a tin can in a cave.

@ubi-swaggins this isn't going to help if the GPU doesn't support DX12, which some Titans don't. Which is what the OP said in the comment made 2 hours before yours.

@xrayspex_73 I really hope they pay attention this time. Apparently Origins and Odyssey had similar problems and Ubisoft didn't bother to ever fix them. I was fine with both of those games, but I find the audio quality in Valhalla very difficult to bear.