Ubisoft will shut down online services for several games released about 10 years ago, including many titles from the Assassin’s Creed series, severing features like online connection and multiplayer modes.
10 renowned Ubisoft games from the seventh generation of consoles will be affected in the new wave of online services shutdown, according to Video Games Chronicle. Online features such as Ubisoft account linking, online multiplayer, Ubisoft Connect rewards and downloadable content on these games will stop completely starting Jan. 25, 2024.
This decision comes as part of a series of service discontinuations being carried out by Ubisoft as many of the games start becoming outdated. “Decommissioning such services for older games is not something we take lightly, but is a necessity as the technology that drove those services has grown obsolete,” stated the company in an official blog post.
The games and their respective platforms being impacted by the online services shutdown are as follows:
- Assassin’s Creed II – Xbox 360
- Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood – Mac
- Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD – PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
- Assassin’s Creed Revelations – PC
- Ghost Recon Future Soldier – PC
- Heroes of Might and Magic VI – PC
- NCIS – PC
- R.U.S.E – PC
- Splinter Cell: Conviction – Xbox 360
- Trials Evolution – PC
One of the franchises most affected by these changes is Assassin’s Creed as it reaches its 13th title in a span of 16 years with the release of Assassin’s Creed Mirage. Six of the games in the series have already had their online services terminated. Ubisoft also released a self-help article with a full list of games that currently do not have online services support, including titles such as Assassin’s Creed II, Driver: San Francisco, Far Cry Blood Dragon and many more. The company clarified as well that all offline features for these games will keep working as intended.
This news follows a wave of services discontinuation from 2022 when games like Splinter Cell: Blacklist and Far Cry 3 were impacted. Answering players’ doubts and claims, Ubisoft released a statement clarifying that, due to a shift in focus to support newer titles, older games would be prone to errors and poor online service.
“Tech obsolescence within the infrastructure of some of our legacy games is something we are keenly aware of, and our focus on remasters (…) is a key part of our preservation efforts,” added the company. Revised versions of Ubisoft’s most popular games such as Assassin’s Creed III Remastered and Anno History Collection are currently available for PC and consoles.
Source: VGC, Ubisoft official website
