The PC port of Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD has been put back up for sale on Steam, and Ubisoft has promised that owners will be able to play the game after September 1.
Ubisoft made the announcement earlier this month that it was shutting down online support for 15 of their older titles, including Ghost Recon Future Soldier, Far Cry 3, and multiple Assassin’s Creed titles. While fans knew Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD was included in this list that would lose online and DLC functionality, a message on its Steam page suggested that even players who owned the title would no longer be able to access the game at all after September 1.
Ubisoft temporarily took the game off the storefront and said that this message wasn’t accurate. Now, Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD is relisted on Steam and a notice has been placed on the store page that says “DLC for this product and online elements and features will become unavailable, as of Sept 1st, 2022. The base game will continue to be playable.” This is the only title Ubisoft previously removed from Steam that has been relisted as of now.
The reaction to Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD not being accessible to owners of the title brought on much ire online, including a massive review bombing of the game on Steam. At the time of writing, over 150 recent reviews give it an overwhelmingly negative score, and an overall score of mixed. In an age where digital ownership is more tenuous than ever, this is a clear sign from the fans that removing access to digital goods that have already been purchased will not be tolerated.
This instance felt especially predatory since Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD was part of the recent Steam sale that occurred just before Ubisoft announced the delisting of online features and, at the time, removal of the game from the owner’s libraries. Thankfully, that’s not the case, and players who pick the game up before September 1 at least don’t have to worry about losing access to the base game.
