Ubisoft Apologizes To Fans For Problematic Assassin’s Creed Unity Launch, Offers A Free Game Or DLC To Compensate

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the situation Ubisoft was dealing with after its launch of Assassin’s Creed Unity. Simply put, many fans were not happy. The game had lots of bugs, and the platform you played it on didn’t change anything. For PC gamers, it was made worse by the fact that the graphics didn’t quite live up to the demos we saw in months past. When I saw the game in action at an NVIDIA press event in September, I don’t remember seeing the flaws that were so glaring when I loaded the game up at home.

Given the situation with ACU and other recent titles, especially Watch Dogs, I wouldn’t blame anyone if they thought Ubisoft wasn’t doing enough to please its customers. Again, I feel this is especially true regarding the company’s PC ports. On many occasions this past year it seemed like the company simply didn’t care about the PC as a platform, especially with word that games like The Crew were to be locked at 30 FPS (which, thankfully, is no longer the case).

Well, the tide might be turning here. Last night, I received an email from Ubisoft that quite literally made my jaw drop. It’s not because it’s just an apology for all that went wrong, but a very attractive offer in its attempt to make things right. If you own the base game, you’ll receive the first DLC free, called Dead Kings. If you happen to own the Season Pass, however, you’ll receive your choice of free game. These are not one-year-old and beyond titles, either – they’re Ubisoft’s latest.

First, the letter:

Dear Deathspawner,

The launch of Assassin’s Creed Unity was a highly-anticipated moment for me and for our development teams around the world who dedicated a tremendous amount of energy, passion and skill to the game’s creation. For us, it was the culmination of years of work on new technologies, the development of multiple innovations — including an all-new game engine — and an evolution of the Assassin’s Creed franchise’s core pillars. More importantly, we know that it was a highly-anticipated moment for many of you as well, as you looked forward to taking part in the first truly next generation Assassin’s Creed game.

Unfortunately, at launch, the overall quality of the game was diminished by bugs and unexpected technical issues. I want to sincerely apologize on behalf of Ubisoft and the entire Assassin’s Creed team. These problems took away from your enjoyment of the game, and kept many of you from experiencing the game at its fullest potential.

We’ve been working hard to fix the problems players are reporting, and the patches we have released so far have resolved many of them. Today, we’re releasing our third patch, which fixes a variety of specific issues related to the game’s stability and performance, matchmaking and connectivity, gameplay and menus. You can find the release notes on that patch HERE.

To show our appreciation for your continued support, we’re making the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Unity Dead Kings DLC free for everyone. For Season Pass holders, we will also offer the choice of one additional game from a selection of Ubisoft titles for free. More details on the offer for Season Pass holders can be found HERE.

In addition to the latest patch and this offer, we are committed to delivering further fixes for other issues you’ve raised. In the meantime, please keep your feedback coming – it has been both humbling and incredibly helpful as we continue working hard to improve the overall quality of the game. We are hopeful that with these forthcoming updates, everyone will be able to truly enjoy their Assassin’s Creed Unity experience.

We will continue striving to make Assassin’s Creed one of the most ambitious and innovative franchises on the market, and we thank you for your continued loyalty and support.

Sincerely,

Yannis Mallat

CEO, Ubisoft Montreal & Toronto

Following the second URL in that blurg will lead you to this list of games to choose from:

• The Crew
• Far Cry 4
• Watch Dogs
• Assassin’s Creed Black Flag
• Rayman Legends
• Just Dance 2015

Note that Far Cry 4 just came out last week, and The Crew comes out next week. This to me is a great sign of things. Offering up brand new titles as a form of apology is quite something, and is truthfully not something I would have imagined. If anything, I’d expect that list to be aged titles.

So, a big kudos to Ubisoft, and a hope that what we saw with Assassin’s Creed Unity won’t be repeated.