Over 90 classic games from Ubisoft have had their servers shut down recently and in a pretty stealthy fashion.
Gaming fans play Ubisoft games at the 2019 Electronic Entertainment Expo, also known as E3, opening in Los Angeles, California on June 11, 2019. - Gaming fans and developers gather, connecting thousands of the brightest, best and most innovative in the interactive entertainment industry and a chance for many to preview new games.
But while the online servers for several of Ubi's biggest franchises have gotten the boot, these games remain playable offline, writes GamesRadar. That's the end of the good thing, though, as the studio also confirmed that unlockable content, which includes new maps and skins, can never be unlocked anymore.
Not to mention, Ubisoft has also disabled the games' in-game news and player stats. Players can also no longer earn Units on Ubisoft Connect, which used to be able to unlock new free content.
PC players seem to have gotten the worst end of the deal as all extra unlockable content, even if already redeemed, can no longer be accessed. On the console side, this isn't the case - you can still get your extra stuff, provided your game's saves haven't been wiped.
Among the games included in the shutdown are Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, Assassin's Creed 2, and Assassin's Creed Revelations; several Splinter Cell games, including Double Agent and Conviction, and the two Rainbow Six: Vegas games alongside other Tom Clancy titles.
A Shutdown Days In The Making
About a week from the writing of this article, some other games have already had their servers shut down with barely any announcement. One of the earliest to be affected is Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag on the Xbox 360, reports GameRevolution.
assassin's creed 4 steam
One notable thing about this is that Black Flag, while not initially included in the list of games that Ubi doesn't support anymore, still got the boot. As a result, the game's multiplayer is no longer working, and the ability to earn Xbox Achievements for it. That initial list mostly includes titles from the Xbox 360 and PS3 days, as shared by Ubisoft itself.
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Why Did Ubisoft Shut Down The Servers?
Officially, no reason was ever shared for the shutdowns. But as reported by GameRant, these servers were turned off because they apparently don't meet the studio's "stability and quality standards for online play." The underlying explanation could be too technical for normal folks, but this could be already obvious in how Ubi's servers have had major problems recently.
Another potential reason for the shutdown is for the studio to focus on improving its server infrastructure for newer games, reports GGRecon. Ubisoft mentioned that they want the players of their more recent titles to have "great online experiences," which makes sense. If they free up their resources from taking care of games that are now a decade old at most, they can indeed focus on making online play better for the more recent releases.
Either way, this could be a nasty blow to those who still enjoyed the multiplayer modes of older games. Specifically, this includes Assassin's Creed Brotherhood's multiplayer, which RockPaperShotgun considered a fun game of cat-and-mouse.
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Story posted on GameNGuide
Written by RJ Pierce