Ubisoft made a rather strange decision. Assassin’s Creed: Liberation HD will be removed from Steam on September 1, 2022. The sudden development was first spotted by Twitter user Nors3, revealing a notice on the game’s Steam page. Steam received a request from Ubisoft to remove the game from sale. It will remain inaccessible following September 1st.
Not only will this sudden decision prevent new players from experiencing Assassin’s Creed: Liberation HD, but even if you had already purchased it, old players will be unable to play the game. To no one’s surprise, this has left many fans confused and angry, especially considering that the game was previously -75% off in the recent Steam Summer Sale.
Ubisoft had previously announced the decommissioning of online services of 15 older titles in September; citing the need to reallocate resources to deliver “great experiences for players who are playing newer or more popular titles”. While Assassin’s Creed: Liberation HD was one of the games on that list, nowhere did it state that Ubisoft would remove player access to the game in its entirety.
This decision set a precedent, being the first time a game developer suspended access to a game, rekindling concerns over the ownership rights of players who decide to purchase games digitally. While many have reached out to Ubisoft and Valve (Steam’s parent company) for comment, no success has been made. Until then there will only be speculation until the full story comes to light.