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Ubisoft Shuts Down Online Services For 90 Older Games

Bullet Club

Member

Ubisoft Shuts Down Online Services For 90 Older Games​


Games that have had their online services shutdown include Rainbow Six Vegas, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, and multiple Just Dance titles.

Ubisoft has shut down online services for 90 games across multiple platforms. The game's will still remain playable and offline features for each game should still function as normal.

Ubisoft notes that in-game news and player statistics in each affected game have also been disabled. For any of the games that used Ubisoft Connect services, units and challenges have been disabled. What Ubisoft describes as "ULC" (Unlockable Content) such as additional maps or skins in all of the affected games have been disabled as well, without a new means to unlock them. PC players who have previously unlocked such content will be locked out of it, while console players can still enjoy the unlocked content unless save game files for that particular game are reset.

The full list of games includes numerous beloved and critically acclaimed titles, ranging from single-player games like Assassin's Creed 2 to more multiplayer focused titles like Rainbow Six Vegas and its sequel. A long list of Just Dance titles are also losing online features.

While some games are only losing servers for select platforms--games like Just Dance 2016 through Just Dance 2018 are only losing online support for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii but will still be playable online on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Wii U--others, like Rainbow Six Vegas 1 and 2, are losing online support entirely. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is losing online features on PC, while Splinter Cell: Double Agent will lose its online components across all available platforms.

Ubisoft has not yet provided a reason for the shuttering of the online services for the affected games. A full list of Ubisoft titles and their respective platforms that are losing online functionality can be found on Ubisoft's official "Help" article on the subject.

Source: Gamespot
 

anthony2690

Banned
It's always funny how people on a video game forum, presumably used by a core gaming audience, downplay shit like this
I can imagine the core audience doesn't care, they will continue to play their favourite games or carry on playing newer titles that come out, as they probably follow that stuff.

The core audience won't care about playing just dance 2016 online, I can imagine at this point the only person booting games like GRAW and rainbox six Vegas up, is some true achievement user with 4-8 360 consoles that wants a heavy boost to their TA ratio (like the poor sod who used six xbox's to boost armored core's for answers online acheivements) I think that dude is a user here actually. XD
 
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kyussman

Member
Sad,but I feel it's just the nature of online games.....over time the player counts drop until they are not worth keeping open.....gaming is a business at the end of the day.
 

levyjl1988

Banned
Moral of the story. Don’t invest time, money, and effort in Ubisoft, because they are only going to let you down. The company is run by the numbers execs and no one who has any real passion. Their logo is literally a piece of shit.
When Ubisoft markets a CE they have a freaking chart to show what is included and excluded confusing consumers. They don’t care about their games or their players.
 

Kssio_Aug

Member
Moral of the story. Don’t invest time, money, and effort in Ubisoft, because they are only going to let you down. The company is run by the numbers execs and no one who has any real passion. Their logo is literally a piece of shit.
When Ubisoft markets a CE they have a freaking chart to show what is included and excluded confusing consumers. They don’t care about their games or their players.
Ubisoft makes a lot of things wrong, but I don't think that shutting down these servers is one of them. Everyone knew it eventually would happen, and these games are all pretty old and it doesn't make sense to keep paying for servers with little to none players.
 
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ManaByte

Member
Amazing how you can still play old games like Crimson Skies or Perfect Dark Zero online. Maybe if MS buys Ubisoft they can move these games over to Azure and bring them back online.
 

STARSBarry

Gold Member
Are they trying too look appealing to Sony or something by shutting down all their old servers? I really hope not.

I was actually thinking along these lines, not specifically Sony, but any buyer would he interested in the outgoings from legacy services that they would potentially need to support without much in the way of expected revenue streams from.

For someone angling to look as profitable as possible it certainly is a move you would at least consider.
 
I was actually thinking along these lines, not specifically Sony, but any buyer would he interested in the outgoings from legacy services that they would potentially need to support without much in the way of expected revenue streams from.

For someone angling to look as profitable as possible it certainly is a move you would at least consider.
Plus the buyer would get all the heat for this if they were to do it after.
 

kanjobazooie

Mouse Ball Fetishist
others, like Rainbow Six Vegas 1 and 2, are losing online support entirely.
single-tear.gif


I tried replaying them recently. They aged like doodoo.
 

The_Mike

I cry about SonyGaf from my chair in Redmond, WA
The digital future and GAAS!

Stop being edgy bandwagon clownish.

I can still play counter strike 1.6.

I can still play quake 3 arena.
Even Quake 2 which got released in 1997,and quake 1, that was released in 1996.

Just because Sony and Ubisoft are retarded doesn't stand your point by any chance.

It's like saying all single player games are shit because of trash games that gets low meta score.

But hey, you probably won some Internet points from the other edgy GaaS scared monkeys in here.

By the way, your avatar fits you perfect.
 
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Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
So like, what happens with Blacklist in particular for example? Will the DLC gear unlocks always be greyed out/unavailable forever? Do any other elements/gameplay unlocks need online functionality to apply? They're only shutting it down for WiiU right now but obviously later on will do the same for all versions. Also, which Ghost Recon are they referring to here for the PC? The very first one from 2001, they were still running their online services for it? That's surprising if so. Or is it some newer dodgy thing with the same name because it was a franchise reboot attempt or whatever else?
The digital future and GAAS!
many of these games aren't even that sort of thing at all being much older stuff. Any kind of online usability, even classic boxed games with multiplayer on player dedicated servers, requires at least some functionality by the company to offer things like a server browser or match making (though if that's all that's being done then it's theoretically at times easy to offer fan patches directing the games to new player-ran backends, not that it's guaranteed someone, or a community, will care to do all that for any kind of game of course, many of these will most likely just stay dead regardless). So, unless you wanna go back to the good old days of only TCP/IP based multiplayer and consider anything beyond that (or even that if it includes some kind of online CD key authentication a la Diablo II) a "digital age GAAS", just stop making a fool of yourself by showing how ignorant you are🤷‍♂️
 
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yurinka

Member
Ubisoft has not yet provided a reason for the shuttering of the online services for the affected games.
The reason always it's the same for all companies: it cost money to keep alive the servers of old games and related maintenance like to update them to support new tech and services. So reached a certain point when the game haven't been generating enough revenue to compensate these costs for a while, and nobody or almost nobody is using these online features they decide to shut down the servers.

I did work as programmer in online games but even if I'm not an expert in servers I think maybe the only reason to solve that would be to migrate all online games of the company from all generations to a same platform agnostic online tech that wouldn't require game specific maintenance or servers, and that would use servers with free storage and bandwith. And if possible, to make this tech free and open source to allow all companies use it. Which to me sounds as science fiction right now.

Queue all the people angry or upset about games being shutdown that they probably haven't booted up or even thought about in the past decade or two :p
Or about games they never bought and never going to buy. Or acting as it is a very rare case and blaming this company, when basically all companies do the same but it isn't 'cool' to hate them. See an example:

Just because Sony and Ubisoft are retarded doesn't stand your point by any chance.
 
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Scotty W

Member
It's not downplaying, it's being pragmatic. Servers cost money, and you can't run them forever. This is the reality of our hobby. Either accept that reality, or keep pissing in the wind. Some people like the taste, I guess.
These people who talk about pragmatism and reality are mot true gamers.
 

STARSBarry

Gold Member
single-tear.gif


I tried replaying them recently. They aged like doodoo.

I still remember picking Vegas 2 up from Gamestation and noticing it had an icon on the back that said it had Xbox vision support (little camera for xbox), dude at the counter told me you could take a photo of your own face and use that for your operator. Suddenly ideas flashed through my head, I slapped anouther £30 down and bought an xbox vision alongside it.

Immediately when I got home I googled for the biggest high quality full colour image of Hitler's face and printed it off. Held it up infront of my face got the vision to take the picture, turned sideways and let it take my side shot as normal, boom Hitler playable in Rainbow Six. Literally the first match we load in with the squad, every one runs to the first double door and sets up 2 a side, there's this pause and suddenly over the mic "IS THAT FUCKING HITLER!?" queue huge laughter as the other two notice.

Man good times, but never again.
 
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Damnit, I guess I can now put GRAW 2 away completely. I did enjoy the brief revival once it was added to BC and played with strangers for a little while. I still get the urge to play from time to time so I boot it up probably every month or two and look for online matches but it's been a loooong time since I've actually found one so for all intents and purposes, it was already dead.

Please give us a new "old" Ghost Recon, Ubi.
 

Paasei

Member
I think it’s somewhat acceptable to shut servers down. I’m not happy with it when it comes to other games, but in a way it does make sense.

What should happen after that, is when developers no longer want to hosts servers, that they give the tools to the still remaining communities so they can do it themselves.
 
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DryvBy

Member
Stop being edgy bandwagon clownish.

I can still play counter strike 1.6.

I can still play quake 3 arena.
Even Quake 2 which got released in 1997,and quake 1, that was released in 1996.

Just because Sony and Ubisoft are retarded doesn't stand your point by any chance.

It's like saying all single player games are shit because of trash games that gets low meta score.

But hey, you probably won some Internet points from the other edgy GaaS scared monkeys in here.

By the way, your avatar fits you perfect.

Did you know you can form sentences with things called paragraphs? You can also go to therapy for getting angry at internet opinions. You can like service games all you want, others don't have to. Notice I don't really care that you like service games or digital content? That's because I'm a circus clown.
 

The_Mike

I cry about SonyGaf from my chair in Redmond, WA
Did you know you can form sentences with things called paragraphs? You can also go to therapy for getting angry at internet opinions. You can like service games all you want, others don't have to. Notice I don't really care that you like service games or digital content? That's because I'm a circus clown.

nGdgOSk.png
 
So like, what happens with Blacklist in particular for example? Will the DLC gear unlocks always be greyed out/unavailable forever? Do any other elements/gameplay unlocks need online functionality to apply? They're only shutting it down for WiiU right now but obviously later on will do the same for all versions.

Very curious about this too. I still have the game installed on my PC, with all of the campaign stuff unlocked, which is tied to my save file (I could transfer it to a new PC).

Would be strange if that suddenly became unavailable due to a lack of online support.
 

Omali

Member
Queue all the people angry or upset about games being shutdown that they probably haven't booted up or even thought about in the past decade or two :p

Or claim how they planned to do the online acheivements XD
This list seems to be a comprehensive collection of games Ubisoft shut down, so the people complaining about it now weren't even paying attention to those games. OnLive shut down in 2015. Endwar and Double Agent's servers shut down in 2018. A lot of these games have been offline for years now, some of them in the list going back to 2014.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Shut down without any prior notice ?

That's incredibly shitty of them, even if they're old games that don't get a lot of traffic. Still, let people know if they want to try and get trophies/achievements locked behind online stuff first.
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
full list at all?!
Listed here https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/help/...vices-availability-in-ubisoft-games/000064576

America's ArmyXbox 360
Anno 1404PC
Anno OnlinePC
Assassin's Creed 2PC | MAC | iOS | OnLive
Assassin's Creed: BrotherhoodOnLive
Assassin's Creed: RecollectionMAC | iOS
Assassin's Creed: RevelationsOnLive
AvatarPC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Beyond Good and EvilPlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Blazing Angels 2PC | Xbox 360
Call of Juarez 2: Bound in BloodPC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Call of Juarez 3: The CartelPC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Driver: San FranciscoOnLive
ESPN Sport ConnectionsWii U
Far CryPC
Far Cry 2PC
Far Cry Blood DragonPC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Flashback OriginsPC
Ghost ReconPC
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2PC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
H.A.W.X.PC
H.A.W.X. 2PC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | OnLive
HazePlayStation 3
Heroes of Might and Magic 5PC
I Am AlivePC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Just Dance 3Xbox 360
Just Dance 3 Greatest HitsXbox 360
Just Dance 3 KidsXbox 360 | Wii | Wii U
Just Dance 4PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | Wii U
Just Dance 2014PlayStation 3 | PlayStation 4| Xbox 360 | Xbox One | Wii | Wii U
Just Dance 2015PlayStation 3 | PlayStation 4 | Xbox 360 | Xbox One | Wii | Wii U
Just Dance 2016PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | Wii
Just Dance 2017PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | Wii
Just Dance 2018PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | Wii
Just Dance Disney PartyXbox 360 | Wii
Just Dance Disney Party 2Xbox 360
Marvel Avengers: Battle for EarthXbox 360 | Wii U
Might & Magic: Clash of HeroesPC
Might & Magic Duel of ChampionsPC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Might & Magic ShowdownPC
Might & Magic Showdown Paint WorkshopPC
Might & Magic X: LegacyPC
MotionSportsXbox 360
MotionSport AdrenalinePlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
My Fitness Coach ClubPlayStation 3
PowerUp HeroesXbox 360
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten SandsPC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | OnLive
PureFootballPlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Rabbids Alive and KickingXbox 360
Rabbids Go HomeWii
Rabbids LandWii U
Rabbids Travel in TimeWii
Rainbow Six - Raven ShieldPC
Rainbow Six LockdownPC | Nintendo GameCube | PlayStation 2 | Xbox
Rainbow Six VegasPC | PlayStation 3 | PlayStation Portable | Xbox 360
Rainbow Six Vegas 2PC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | Xbox One
Rayman 3PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Rayman 3 HDPlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Rayman LegendsPC
Rayman OriginsPC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
R.U.S.E.MAC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
R.U.S.E. BetaPC
Scrabble 2007PC
Scrabble 2009PC
Settlers 3PC
Settlers 4PC
Settlers 6: Rise of an EmpirePC
Settlers 7: Paths to a KingdomPC | MAC
Settlers: Heritage of KingsPC
Shape Fitness EvolvedXbox 360
Shape UpXbox One
Shaun White SkateboardingPC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | OnLive
Shaun White SnowboardingPC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | OnLive
Silent Hunter 3PC
Silent Hunter 4: U-boat MissionsPC
Silent Hunter 4: Wolves of the PacificPC
Silent Hunter 5OnLive
Smurfs 2PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Spartacus LegendsPlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Splinter Cell: BlacklistWii U
Splinter Cell: Chaos TheoryPC
Splinter Cell: ConvictionPC | MAC | OnLive
Splinter Cell: Double AgentPC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
The Adventures of TintinPC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Tom Clancy's EndWarPC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Toy Soldiers War ChestPC | PlayStation 4 | Xbox One
Watch Dogs CompanionAndroid | iOS
World in ConflictPC
Your Shape Fitness EvolvedXbox 360
Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012Xbox 360
Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2013Wii U
 

anthony2690

Banned
Amazing how you can still play old games like Crimson Skies or Perfect Dark Zero online. Maybe if MS buys Ubisoft they can move these games over to Azure and bring them back online.
You can play crimson skies online? I thought that was a thing that a small dedicated fan base did for original Xbox games (that isn't official) using a ethernet cable and a pc hooked up to your Xbox, or am I wrong?
 

SaucyJack

Member
I guess I’m never going to get that Abstergo Employee of the Month trophy for AC Brotherhood now. 😢

Edit: just looked at list PS3 version of Brotherhood is not on the list. Really should try and do this one, it’s only AC game I haven’t platinumed but that trophy was a PITA.
 
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poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
As someone who still regularly plays some old ass games, hopefully there is an easy way on PC for community servers to be made for the games that still have fanbases.
 

BennyBlanco

aka IMurRIVAL69
As someone who still regularly plays some old ass games, hopefully there is an easy way on PC for community servers to be made for the games that still have fanbases.

As long as people want to play it people will find a way. There are still active servers of OG phantasy star online on PC.
 

NinjaBoiX

Member
It's always funny how people on a video game forum, presumably used by a core gaming audience, downplay shit like this
They’re incredibly old games that likely have a trickle of players if any. This is far from a tragedy.

Besides, why should Ubi feel obligated to keep running these servers? They aren’t free…

And when would be an acceptable point to close the servers to you? 30 years? 40?
 

ManaByte

Member
You can play crimson skies online? I thought that was a thing that a small dedicated fan base did for original Xbox games (that isn't official) using a ethernet cable and a pc hooked up to your Xbox, or am I wrong?
No it was one of the first XBL games.
Crimson_Skies_High_Road_to_Revenge_Boxart.jpg
 
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