The Assassin's Creed Liberation Ordeal is a Lesson in Studio Messaging
Recently, news broke of Ubisoft decommissioning several of its online services and DLC support for a handful of games, with the belief that Assassin's Creed: Liberation HD would no longer be available drawing the most attention. Understandably, the news caused uproar among fans who took the announcement to mean that even if content had been bought and paid for, it would be rendered unplayable regardless. What further compounded the issue was a notice on Assassin's Creed: Liberation HD official steam page, only shortly after Ubisoft's 15th Anniversary celebration of the series, that stated services would be discontinued by fall this year.
What followed was Ubisoft conducting damage control as Assassin's Creed: Liberation HD was review-bombed on Steam, with the company confirming that players need not be worried as they would still be able to play their games, as only the online services would no longer be available for said games. While fears might have been assuaged, the recent ordeal does highlight how studios like Ubisoft must be clear and concise when handling news that could have a significant impact on its games, especially for series as prominent and popular as Assassin's Creed.
Ubisoft Removing Online Services Makes Another Great Case for Video Game Preservation
Ubisoft's original announcement of decommissioned services came in early July this year, with other titles losing online services including several other earlyAssassin's Creed games as well as other titles such as Far Cry 3's 2012 release and Rayman Legends. Though this might be distressing to some players, it's become a fairly standard procedure within the gaming industry, where older titles see online support being culled due to a lack of interest or
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