Imagine paying sixty dollars for a remake of a thirteen-year-old game — and getting a monkey as a thank-you gift. It sounds like a punchline, but that’s exactly how Ubisoft decided to sweeten the launch of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced. And oddly enough, the trick is working: the community is talking about this pet more than some of the remake’s actual story twists.
Short version: yes, the monkey is real, it’s free, and almost anyone who bought the game can get it. But claiming it takes a few manual steps rather than just opening a menu. Here’s what this bonus actually is, where it came from, and whether it’s worth bothering with at all.
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What Is the Shipmate Monkey DLC and Why Is Ubisoft Giving It Away Free
The Shipmate Monkey is an exclusive companion pet for Edward Kenway that rides along on the Jackdaw. Technically it’s DLC, but in practice it’s a marketing move — a way to reward players for buying the game “through official channels.”
Ubisoft has been pushing Ubisoft Connect as the unified hub for all its releases, and with a Ubisoft Connect account and a redemption code, all Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced players can claim this exclusive pet, which is an in-game monkey. It’s a classic move: tie the bonus to the account rather than the platform, which nudges people to register with Ubisoft’s own service even if they bought the game on Steam or the Epic Games Store.
How to Get the Monkey Code in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced
The process isn’t automatic — the DLC won’t just show up in your inventory, you need to redeem it manually. Here’s the step-by-step:
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Make sure you have a free Ubisoft Connect account (registration takes a couple of minutes if you don’t already have one).
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Go to the code redemption page on Ubisoft’s website.
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Enter the code: ASC-BFR-PMK-000.
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If you bought the game somewhere other than Ubisoft Connect — Steam, Epic Games Store, PS5, or Xbox Series X|S — you’ll also need to link that platform account to your Ubisoft Connect profile.
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Launch the game — the pet should show up in Edward’s gear.
The whole process costs nothing and takes just a minute or two of account-linking, but that extra linking step is exactly the detail a lot of players miss, which is usually why the monkey doesn’t show up for them.
Which Platforms Support the Free Monkey DLC
| Platform | DLC Available | Ubisoft Connect Linking Required |
|---|---|---|
| PC (Ubisoft Connect) | Yes | No, already linked |
| PC (Steam) | Yes | Yes |
| PC (Epic Games Store) | Yes | Yes |
| PlayStation 5 | Yes | Yes |
| Xbox Series X|S | Yes | Yes |
As the table shows, the free DLC is available across all major platforms — PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S — and the only real difference is how many extra clicks the account-linking step will take.
Does the Monkey Actually Matter in Black Flag Resynced
Worth setting expectations here: the Shipmate Monkey is a cosmetic companion, not a gameplay mechanic that affects balance or progression. It won’t unlock secret islands, help you board ships, or boost your gold income. Its value is purely atmospheric and collector’s appeal — the remake leans into pets and extra content that simply didn’t exist in the 2013 original.
Alongside new storylines built around fan-favorites like Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet, the developers added lighter touches too — a photo mode, new sea shanties, and companion pets meant to flesh out the Golden Age of Piracy atmosphere.
For anyone who remembers the original Black Flag, the monkey is more of a nostalgic touch and a good excuse to fire up photo mode than a meaningful piece of content.
Is Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced Worth Buying Just for This Bonus
Let’s be honest: buying a full-price remake purely for a virtual monkey isn’t exactly a rational strategy. The game costs the full sixty dollars, which is a lot to ask for a title built on top of a thirteen-year-old game, even one thoroughly rebuilt on the modern Anvil Engine.
Critical reception is mixed, too: the remake sits at 84 on Metacritic, a touch below the original Black Flag’s 88. That’s still a solid score, but it’s a reminder that the buying decision should hinge on the remake itself — the updated visuals, ray tracing, reworked combat, and new story branches — not on a free pet.
What Buyers Actually Get Beyond the Monkey
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Fully reworked visuals with ray tracing and micropolygon rendering.
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A new dynamic weather system and destructible environments.
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Additional storylines built around Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet.
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A photo mode for sharing screenshots with the community.
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An open world with no loading screens when entering major cities.
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No multiplayer — the team focused entirely on the single-player campaign.
What This Means for Players and What Comes Next
The monkey story is a small but telling example of how Ubisoft is trying to build loyalty around Ubisoft Connect without locking content to a single platform. For players, it’s a nice bonus rather than a reason to buy: claiming the pet is easy and free, but it won’t offset the price of the game or change what the remake fundamentally is.
What matters more is what happens next. Don’t expect heavy post-launch support for Black Flag Resynced — it’s a remake, not a live-service game, and reports of layoffs on the team only reinforce that expectation. So if you’ve already decided to buy it, redeem the monkey code within your first few minutes in the game. And if you’re still on the fence, base that decision on whether you’re willing to pay full price for a well-crafted but still very familiar retelling of Edward Kenway’s story — not on a free pet.
