Ubisoft recently shut down online services for dozens of its classic games, including a few Assassin's Creed, Ghost Recon, and Just Dance experiences. As time goes on, stories of this nature will continue to increase in number. Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive shut down GTA Online on PS3 and Xbox 360 just last year. Metal Gear Solid V's servers on the same platforms were shuttered in 2021, as well. And online support for all of Halo's classic titles on 360 were discontinued earlier this year.
The maintenance and upkeep of online servers for any game or service often proves nothing short of a costly investment. This holds true even if the services seldom see action from players. It's the reason Sony gave for shuttering storefronts on its older home and handheld consoles, arguing that those resources would be best spent elsewhere within the business. With the ninth console generation picking up steam, then, it seems most, if not all, pre-seventh gen services will soon get the boot in some capacity.
A new post on the Ubisoft Help page (via Push Square) reveals the publisher's recent shuttering of online services across several of its older games. Thus, multiplayer functionality, player statistics, and Ubisoft Connect elements such as Unlockable Content are no longer available in dozens of classic titles. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood lost online support on PC, Mac, iOS, and OnLive. Meanwhile, Revelations' services have become inaccessible through OnLive. Functionality on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and Wii U has also gone cold for Just Dance 3 through Just Dance 2018. Just Dance 2014 and 2015 won't even offer online services for PS4 and Xbox One anymore. Ghost Recon and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 similarly lost functionality on PC. Other noteworthy games featured on the list include the likes of Far Cry 2, Haze, and multiple entries from the Rabbids, Rainbow Six, and Rayman franchises.
Of course, many will be surprised that some of these titles continued to receive support. There likely weren't many people racking up new player statistics in Assassin's Creed Revelations with an OnLive account, for instance. And despite Just Dance's incredible popularity at one point, the series on older PlayStation, Nintendo, Xbox platforms probably isn't receiving much play at present.
Ubisoft's closing of past online services comes at a time when the French publisher is trying to increase its live-service output across multiple platforms. Everything from Assassin's Creed to Ghost Recon has a service game of some sort in development. While fans of these long-running brands remain skeptical of such a turn, at least players will know that Ubisoft has no problem supporting its online ventures way past their expiration date.
Source: Ubisoft (via Push Square)