Ubisoft is shutting down the servers for many of its games in September, including Assassin's Creed 3, Brotherhood, and Liberation. As well as cutting off any multiplayer components, this will also make it impossible to access their DLC, even if you have purchased and downloaded them before this date.
This comes as Ubisoft pulls support from 15 of its older titles, freeing up resources to better support its latest releases. Far Cry 3, Silent Hunter 5, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, and many more will also be affected by the move, with their own DLC unavailable to play from September 1, 2022.
"Closing the online services for some older games allows us to focus our resources on delivering great experiences for players who are playing newer or more popular titles", the blog post announcing the decision reads. "To help us achieve this, a number of older titles will be added to our list of decommissioned online services on 1 September 2022."
The wording in the section that discusses the effects on the games' DLC suggests that not only players will be unable to download them, but they also won't be about to play them. "The installation and access to downloadable content (DLC) will be unavailable", it reads. This is likely because you won't be able to link your Ubisoft account to the games, potentially making it impossible to prove that you own the DLC.
It's worth noting that in the cases of Far Cry 3 and Assassin's Creed 3, their remastered editions will still be available to play as normal. This includes their DLC. Online services are only getting pulled from their initial releases, meaning their content won't be lost to time.
Below is the full list of all the games that are being decommissioned from September onwards. The ones in bold are also having access to their DLC removed.
- Anno 2070
- Assassin’s Creed 2
- Assassin’s Creed 3
- Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
- Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD
- Assassin’s Creed Revelations
- Driver San Francisco
- Far Cry 3
- Ghost Recon Future Soldier
- Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
- Rayman Legends
- Silent Hunter 5
- Space Junkies
- Splinter Cell: Blacklist
- ZombiU
Unsurprisingly, the reaction to the news is widely negative. Many are frustrated that DLC they spent money on will become inaccessible. It remains to be seen if Ubisoft offers any compensation for those affected.