Ubisoft Will Begin Removing Games And DLC From Steam, Even If You Own Them

AC Liberation

Ubisoft

What many gamers long feared about the digital download age is upon us, at least to a minor extent. A number of Ubisoft games and DLCs are no longer for sale on Steam, and there are notices going up that the content itself will no longer be accessible as of September 1. Yes, even if you bought it outright.

One of the most prominent examples is the entirety of Assassin’s Creed Liberation DLC, which was only recently on sale on Steam for 75% off, but players are now being told that purchase will effectively be deleted in less than two months. While Liberation is still available as part of an AC3 bundle, that would require players to…purchase another game to get the game that was just taken from them, that they’d already bought.

While this is not the first time this has ever happened, this is probably the highest profile example we’ve seen with a developer and a recognizable game series. Additionally complicated is the fact that Ubisoft apparently greenlit a sale of Liberation days ago when they clearly knew it would be inaccessible a short while after, hence the new “very negative” review barrage on Steam. No word yet on if players will be compensated in some way.

We’ve seen things sort of like this happen. Warcraft 3 Reforged replaced the original game if you owned it, meaning you could no longer go back to the old version you bought (which was a particular problem given the launch state of Reforged).

Even if Assassin’s Creed Liberation is an eight year old game, the common notion is that it shouldn’t matter, and that a purchase should be a purchase. This feels like a big “I told you so” moment from those types of players who continue to extoll the virtues of physical media.

The problem is, we are fast approaching a point where physical media won’t even matter. Many games, even single player ones, require access to online services in order to play. So eventually, whether you own the physical disc or not, if a company turns off those servers, you will probably not be able to play anyway. That’s happened on some multiplayer games already, but I would expect it to happen to more single player titles in the future as the industry moves into the “always online” model no one wanted, but ended up being inevitable.

Ubisoft is also removing online support for various aspects of 15 games in total. It does not mean these games will not function at all, but certain aspects like multiplayer or account linking won’t work anymore. But yes, for some DLCs like Liberation, that means they won’t be able to played period. The list, and the explanations. Behold, the future:

Assassin’s Creed II

Assassin’s Creed 3 (2012 Release)

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood

Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD

Assassin’s Creed Revelations

Driver San Francisco

Far Cry 3 (2012 Release)

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands

Rayman Legends

Silent Hunter 5

Space Junkies

Splinter Cell: Blacklist

ZombiU

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