End of an Era
Ubisoft is discontinuing its online services support for 90 classic titles including Assassin’s Creed 2, Far Cty 2, Ezio, and Rainbow Six Vegas.
The full list of games is now available on the official Ubisoft blog and it is very extensive. The list is mainly compromised of PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 console generation, and even includes OnLive and MAC/iOS games such as Assassin’s Creed: Revelations.
Ending online services for all of these 90 games will entail three main results. Firstly, online multiplayer will no longer be accessible, with only offline features such as story mode being available. Secondly, both Units and Challenges from the Ubisoft Connect services will be disabled. Lastly, all unlockable maps and skins will be permanently disabled.
Unlockable content will still be technically available for console players as long as they don’t reset any of their saved game files, while PC won’t have that privilege as the content will be removed entirely for them. Rewards on the other hand will still be unlockable for all players, but they will unfortunately no longer be able to actually receive them in-game.
The reason behind Ubisoft’s decision to shut down online services remains officially unknown. However, online rumors have been circulating the internet that the company is currently considering acquisition offers by private equity firms such as Blackstone Inc. as well as KKR & Co., as reported by Bloomberg.
Ubisoft has also expressed interest in an official emailed statement, stating that it has a strong portfolio and is “ideally positioned to capitalize on emerging opportunities amid rapid growth in the industry.”