Summary
Everyone, take a deep breath.Assassin’s Creed Shadowswill not force a mandatory internet connection. I repeat, Assassin’s Creed Shadows will not be an online-only game.
Ubisoft took to social media on Thursday to clarify that its upcoming title set to launch on November 15 will not require a mandatory internet connection. In other words, Assassin’s Creed Shadows will not suffer the same fate as The Crew, when online servers were disbanded and rendered the entire game unplayable.
It’s an important update that settles what had been a fraught 24 hours for fans of the longtime pseudo-historical assassination series. Prior to the update,fans on Reddit had realizedthat the official PlayStation Store listing for Shadows mentioned “Online play required,” something that is also part of other Ubisoft titles that do require an internet connection, like The Crew and The Division.
You Will Still Need A One-Time Internet Connection
While Assassin’s Creed Shadows won’t require an always online connection, it will still require a one-time connection for the purposes of installation. After installation, though, players will be free to continue their journey offline.That means that if you purchase the physical copy of the game,you will need an internet connection to install it. Otherwise, the game is useless. And if you happen to have a slower than typical internet connection, you might end up waiting a while before getting a chance to play.
This trend follows that ofStar Wars: Outlaws, which also denotes on its physical box art that an internet connection is required to install the game. Typically speaking, games that are on disc often do not need an internet connection as the disc has all the necessary content minus any patches or DLC.
In other words, even without an internet connection, one could pop in a disc and begin playing. Sure, it may have some bugs due to a lack of a day-one patch, or it may be outdated years later, but the game is still playable. Requiring an internet connection to install means that the game isn’t, and that trend appears to be continuing.
Why This Decision Matters
Before Ubisoft’s clarification, fans had every right to be mad and/or concerned. Just several weeks ago,The Crew had its servers officially shut down. Being that it was always an online-only game, the game was rendered unplayable for both physical and digital game owners.
In other words, the game is completely unplayable and has now been lost to time. This is despite it having tons of offline content. Some users reported thatthe game was outright revoked from their Ubisoft Connect accounts, meaning even a badge of prior ownership no longer exists.
Users who purchased the game at any point along with those who participated in any post-purchase DLC have nothing to show for it. That’s a huge misstep in terms of customer care, but also game preservation. It stands to reason why a single-player-only title would even need a constant internet connection. Thankfully, this will not be the case.
