For most gamers, it’s safe to say that when it comes to deciding between digital and physical games, more and taking the jump by acquiring digital games. However, when situations such as what Ubisoft has planned occur, it throws a wrench into that. Case in point, Ubisoft has announced that it plans to ax a large number of gaming services, and DLC later this year on September 1st, 2022.
That isn’t that big deal, since that happens a lot. Sure, it sucks, but it happens. However, this also included owners losing an entire single-player Assassin’s Creed game, Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD. Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD is DLC for Assassin’s Creed 3 Remastered Edition, but could be purchased separately. Since Ubisoft was pulling the plug on countless DLCs, this game would have been plucked from their library, never to be played again, despite paying for it.
That would leave the only way to play Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD is to purchase Assassin’s Creed 3 Remastered Edition. Which is not only more expensive but the thought of being forced to buy another game, so that we can play another game doesn’t sit well with me, and it shouldn’t sit well with you either.
https://twitter.com/Nors3/status/1546202942772051968?s=20&t=sCXAo_37oZp13_7gE0EVrA
Now, it’s not usual for games to lose access to servers and sometimes become dead games since those servers were needed to gain access to that game. Yep, we love “Always Online,” don’t we? It’s another thing and a dangerous precedent when a game that was paid for, is ripped from your library, and never to be seen again. That’s what Ubisoft was planning for Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD. A game that was only recently featured in Steam’s sale, and was scooped up by countless gamers.
How would you feel if a game you just purchased was delisted and no longer appeared in your library? You’d likely be frustrated, as have a vast number of gamers who have taken to Steam to voice their frustration by review bombing Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD.
Of course, sometimes it just takes the frustration of gamers to force publishers to change their minds, which is exactly what Ubisoft has done. The Far Cry makers have back-pedaled on some of its plans and have confirmed to IGN that “Ubisoft says current owners of Assassin’s Creed: Liberation HD on Steam will “still be able to access, play, or redownload” it after it’s decommissioned.”
“As stated in our support article, only DLCs and online features will be affected by the upcoming decommissioning,” Ubisoft told IGN. “Current owners of those games will still be able to access, play or redownload them. Our teams are working with our partners to update this information across all storefronts and are also assessing all available options for players who will be impacted when these games’ online services are decommissioned on September 1st, 2022. It has always been our intention to do everything in our power to allow those legacy titles to remain available in the best possible conditions for players, and this is what we are working towards.
Update: Ubisoft says current owners of Assassin's Creed: Liberation HD on Steam will "still be able to access, play, or redownload" it after it's decommissioned. https://t.co/0b4lCRXeTF https://t.co/ULuRRdv3uo
— IGN (@IGN) July 11, 2022
Now, what if Ubisoft has gone about this without telling anyone, and Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD would have been lost for good? I’m sure that wouldn’t have made for any better headlines, nor would there be any cool heads to be found. This was a crappy move on Ubisoft’s part, and I hate to see when companies take advantage of its powers and pull stunts like this. Thankfully, this move was adverted, but who’s to say Ubisoft won’t try it again. Or worse, other publishers decide to see if they can get away with it?
Regardless if you felt that Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD was a bad game or not, this isn’t how Ubisoft should have handled the situation. Sure, they reversed course, but did they learn anything? I suppose we’ll find out when they attempt something like this in the future. As for my fellow gamers, I wonder if this will cause them to stop purchasing Ubisoft games.
