Ubisoft removing games you purchased from Steam

Can't remember this happening before, first?

Ubisofthas announced thatAssassin’s CreedLiberation HD will ‘not be accessible’ after September on Steam and possibly other formats.

If you’ve ever wanted to play Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD then you may have missed your final chance, as Ubisoft has removed it from sale on PC and consoles.

Even worse than that, those that bought the game on Steam will be unable to play it at all from September 1. Which means that even if you already have it downloaded it will still be impossible to play after that date.

As popular as buying games digitally has become one of the obvious downfalls is that you never really own anything, you essentially just purchase a licence to play it.

This means that, in theory, the game could be withdrawn at any point, and you can no longer use it even if you’ve paid for it.

This has happened multiple times before with ebooks, due to changes in licences, but video game examples have so far been rare (the P.T. demo from Konami is the most high profile example but that was always a free download).

The most obvious question here is why? Assassin’s Creed is 100% Ubisoft’s own property, so there shouldn’t be any issue with licences, and yet for whatever reason the game will essentially cease to exist in the autumn.

Yay for digital

I don't see an issue with them taking it down, but I have a huge issue with it no longer being available to people who already purchased it.

Like how is that even legal

That sounds absolutely bonkers and can’t imagine valve will go along with this quietly as it essentially undermines their entire business model!

All the digital stans that get on some of us for still buying physical. Care to explain THIS?

I would not be surprised if the "game would no longer be accessible" to "you would not be able to play the game if you already purchase" is a misunderstanding.

@Pedro: Yea, I can't imagine this would go away without a class action suit at some point if it's true.

It costs nothing for a digital game to be on a server for download only.

ooff PC gaming strikes again

It's not because it's on Steam, it's because Ubi is removing the game from their own servers, and since you have to launch every Ubi game via Uplay, no matter where you purchased it, Valve can't do anything about it.

This is why I live by the simple rule of never giving Ubi money.

Ubisoft needs to give me more content to hate on. They've been slacking.

@SecretPolice: -10 points for using a gif with latifa in it.

Lol and that's why you buy physical suckers. Something most PC peasants can't do.

Yeah this is concerning if this goes beyond Ubisoft and it becomes more prevalent. Still sucks for those that paid for AC Liberation and enjoy it and want to keep playing it. The 3 people that do lol.

I'm curious to see how this plays out. Games get de-listed all the time. I've got many games in my library that are no longer available for purchase. Also, games with online components never last forever as those servers will eventually go away, but the idea that a game with a single player campaign will suddenly go inaccessible is concerning.

I would bet that you can still download it, just not actually authenticate and play it due to servers being down; at that point you still have options, and at that point, they're all morally correct. I can still play/reinstall Transformers games by High Moon when Activision shut them down years ago.

@byshop: Yep. I have already been pretty frustrated and bored with how modern gaming has been going with the scummy business practices but I will say if this becomes a normal practice to delist AND de-access digital games that I've purchased even if it is just for single player, I think I will stop buying games and just move on to something else. I haven't been super impressed with the current generation's new games for the most part but this will kill it for me.

Why would I pay for a product that will eventually go away? Now these really are just rentals then.

Bad form. Very bad form indeed.

@poe13:That's why I say I want to see how this plays out. I wouldn't be surprised if the outcry results in some recompense or alternative being offered. People are quick to jump on the anti-digital bandwagon but in literally thousands of videos games that I've purchased across dozens of digital platforms this is the first time that I've seen access to a game with a single player campaign being lost and not available for download after purchase (online games going offline and/or games being delisted from the storefront, sure). This was only just announced and there are tons of articles about it already, so hopefully Ubi will reverse course in response to the outcry and fix this.

It doesn't matter that this game was an offshoot of the main series, a Vita port to PC, and not terribly well received in the first place. If you pay for something then you should have access to it, even if it's a crap game.

Servers cost money, they ain't cheap either. It's probably cheaper for the manufacturer to sell you the physical copy once than maintain a game on a server for the rest of your life lol.

Apparently it's still playable (including DLCs) if you already own the game, and you'll also still be able to download everything should you own the game.

saw the thread title and immediately feared the worst for my steam copy of chaos theory. fortunately still got physical copies of the og trilogy. only got one ac game on steam and that's rogue, there'd be no tears shed if they withdrew that. splinter cell on the other hand...

Personally couldn't give a shit about Ass Creed, but gaming has a habit of normalizing shitty things if they can get away with it.

Fortunately they seem to have backtracked somewhat.

Ummm, it's not like we have a choice anymore I would love if PC still had physical games. I still buy physical games on my PS4. I'm all for keeping physical games alive but even on console these days people are buying digital more. I have a bad feeling that current gen now will be the last generation for physical games on consoles it's heading that way unfortunately.

It's happening with movies as well.

https://gizmodo.com/sony-playstation-studiocanal-1849153124

https://www.eurogamer.net/assassins-creed-liberation-hd-steam-notice-states-game-will-become-inaccessible-from-september

The news has already been updated. Ubisoft changed it's mind(obviously since it is illegal), and you will be able to still play the game after their servers go down, and they will fix the steam notice soon.

The only "disadvantage" that digital games have is that they are literally yours forever, unlike physical games.

Ubisoft, instead of removing games, why don't you close down? Thanks.

Nice to see Ubi get BTFO

I figured they would clarify, it would cost them so much money in a lawsuit and negative PR that they would end up being purchased by Microsoft 🤣

I don't think do. There's to much money in special editions and they lose that without physical copies.

"You can no longer access a game you rightfully bought."

Yeah Ubisoft can go to the furthest corner of the earth with that BS.

I never even cared for this AC game but Ubisoft taking games AWAY from people... that's just not what a gaming company should do.

Hold your horses, folks. While a shady move, it is still available for download via Uplay launcher provided you linked it.

This is clickbait.

I don't like Ubisoft, but the opportunity to misuse this to talk shit about The Glorious PC Gaming Master Race and the virtues of digital over physical is too high to let the disinformation float around.

While it was purchased through Steam, Ubisoft games use the Uplay launcher.

Provided you have played the game at least once, it should be registered to your account.

In short, you still have access to the game, you just need to have the Uplay launcher installed.

*Correction: you can still launch it through Steam, it sounds like.

Yay indeed. Game is permanently available no matter where you go. Can't say the same for the various physical discs I've lost or damaged over the years, or when I travel and want to play outside of my home...

Here is a link with official word from Ubisoft saying that the game WILL STILL BE PLAYABLE for those that purchased it.

Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD will remain playable for Steam owners, Ubisoft says

If you want to hate someone right now, hate Steam for misstating things and the media for runnning with that lie without verifying it. Otherwise, maybe calm down a bit.

Failure of media, plain and simple. And a whole lot of gullible fools on here eager to hate on things for no reason other than their own bias.

DIGITAL RULES! PC RULES!

*Edit: to provide some context, all they're doing is "culling" the game from online support. This has been done hundreds of times for years by all publishers for older games, purchased digitially and otherwise. Yes it can suck for games especially online games, but you can still play it.

Of course it sucks less on PC, where an active community and mod support often means those games can be brought back to life online😁Sorry can't help myself 😋

**Edit: lol all the articles claiming the initial "Oh no you can't play anymore" are updating with new info...and yet they won't change the article title. Clickbait going to clickbait.

yep. sounds like theyve tested the water and the water said f*ck off

No, they didn't test anything. Nothing has changed other than online support. Something that has been done with many games for many years.

Don't worry, though: Ubisoft is still a shit company, they're just destroying gaming by releasing crap, not by removing it.

@mrbojangles25: I think they did test something though. While I'm glad they changed their mind and went back to allow for continued use for people who still own it, how do you explain what is in the OP of this thread? The picture shows "Please note this will note be accessible following Sept 1, 2022".

Now when I go on to the Steam page of this game (I don't own it) that has changed to "DLC for this product and online elements and features will become unavailable as of Sept 1, 2022. The base game will continue to be playable".

My thoughts are: What if Ubi really wanted to make it so you could not access it even if you owned it, just like what it originally seemed like they were doing? Now they changed their minds and will let you play it (just not the online stuff, whatever) thankfully because enough of a stink was put up. It really sucks if we are headed towards/already in a future where you won't be able to play a game you paid money for simply because the company decided it was so.

I'm feeling like this may happen again and if so and it becomes prevalent, then **** that. I'm out.

Fair enough; it is interesting they changed the wording, and significantly.

I still think it is more likely an overall general lack of communication and failure to verify.

• Ubisoft says something about dropping online support.
• Steam either misunderstands or Ubisoft did not state it clearly and publishes the info.
• Media doesn't follow through and check their sources, confirm the information, before publishing.

Take your pick of the above or, in my opinion, I think it was all three.

Even if Ubisoft was guilty of what your suspect, that doesn't change the fact the game is registered to your Ubisoft account, assuming it's like almost every Ubisoft game you don't purchase directly through Ubisoft. You can still play it, you just need the Uplay app.

I do agree with people's sentiments--**** Ubisoft, in so many words--if they plan on doing this in the future. Them and any other publisher. I also don't blame people for assuming the worst; again, this is Ubisoft we are talking about.

I just think we as gamers can be a little fickle, cutthroat, kneejerk, and all manner of really lame things when it comes to gaming. Like, a lot worse than say people who like to cook or build model airplanes are about their hobby lol. I think it is important that when we do make a fuss, it's over something true.

My thoughts on this are that this has nothing to do with digital…it’s a matter of principle. They are/want to take games away and that’s just plain wrong.

I used to have digital games on the DSi for example, but Nintendo only delisted their games if there was a rights issue for example, they never outright broke into your library and took out any digital games.

Sounds ridiculous.

Breaking News: Brief Misunderstanding Occurs and is Cleared Up Within a Few Hours.

Film at 11.

Game will still be playable.

Ubisoft sucks at communication (among other things).

All the fake doomsday anti-pc/digital bitches can move on.

@mrbojangles25: Exactly what I anticipated. Now, who is going to clean up all this egg on these folks' faces?😮

/thread? 😋

I'm not going to begin to pretend to know anything about copyright and/or patent law, but can't things be signed "in perpetuity" to prevent things like this?

I mean, I want to respect an artist's rights to do things with their material, but at the same time if say for example a certain song was used in a game, couldn't it be used indefinitely. Not for other games, mind you, but so long as that game exists (forever, basically?). Additionally, why would that stop new games from being printed?

Do video game engine licenses expire? And when they do, does that mean you can't sell that game anymore? Are all Unreal Engine 3 games going to disappear from the market in the next 10 years?

Maybe "in perpetuity" is a deal breaker for artists and they just don't bother signing anything that says that.

I agree with this. People are trying to paint it up as a miscommunication, but I don't think that was the case at all.

We've had potentially hundreds of games delisted (including Ubisoft titles) without this additional message layered on top.

Ubisoft laced their titles, regardless of single player content with online services. In the case of Anno the developer is scrambling to patch it as most of the content is online. Regardless of being a single player title.

This announcement quickly became viral across social media and news sites with Steam review bombing almost immediately taking effect.

Even if we were to take this is a mere communication error on their part, the ineptitude on their, and Valves part, is not something to brush off.

Certain users here are acting like it's gamers fault for over-reacting, when it's an industry where such a thing wouldn't be surprising given the sheer cynicism.

Yes, people thought shitty company was shitty. Because they are universally shitty.

Surprise.

@uninspiredcup: that doesn't change the fact it is still linked and available to your Ubisoft account, iirc.

Again, I am basing this on my experience with the few Ubisoft games I have purchased through Steam, but each one of them is linked to my Ubisoft account. It's been a while but I think it was mandatory.

Please correct me if I am wrong, or if there is a workaround that does not require you having a Ubisoft account connected to the game.

@mrbojangles25: I’m not going to pretend to understand either…..unless the right answer is royalties. Sigh…..this has gotten complex, at least for me. :]