Several Ubisoft games may be unplayable on Steam after September decommissioning, even for owners [Updated]

[Updated on July 11 @ 1:50 PM ET]: Ubisoft has since supplied a new statement to Polygon, confirming that the offline components of Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD will still be playable after September 1. At current writing, the game’s Steam page still includes the notice saying otherwise. Ubisoft reports that its working 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.” This report may cover the other two games mentioned in the original article.

The original article, posted on July 11, is as follows.

Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD and two other Ubisoft games may be unplayable through Steam in a couple months. Liberation, along with Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic and Space Junkies, have been delisted from Valve’s storefront. And even if you already bought and paid for the games, you may not be able to play them starting September 1.

Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD is no longer for sale on Steam. It, along with the other two games, include this message on their pages: “Please note this title will not be accessible following September 1st, 2022.” Steam users have not been taking the news well, review bombing all three games into the dirt.

The move follows an announcement made by Ubisoft last week, which stated that the online services for many games are ending. Nearly a dozen PC games are affected, with some even removing the ability for owners to play the DLC.

Space Junkies and a couple other games include these notices on their Steam pages.

Not an uncommon trend

This isn’t the first time Ubisoft has ended online services for its older games. Last year, a list of games had their servers shuttered. This included games like Rainbow Six Vegas and Might & Magic X – Legacy. However, the decommissioning certainly looks far more severe this time around. Losing online function for older games is natural, as the player base often moves on to new and better things. But rarely in my memory do purchased games and DLC get blocked from access. Ubisoft is making some legacy games unplayable on Steam, and that’s concerning.

The French developer has since released a statement, saying it’s going over options.

“We don’t take the decision to retire services for older Ubisoft games lightly,” the company said. “Our teams are currently assessing all available options for players who will be impacted when these games’ online services are decommissioned on September 1st, 2022.”