Ubisoft has shut down online multiplayer for 90 games – and there’s a few surprises

Ubisoft has shut down online multiplayer for 90 games, including Rayman Legends on PC, and Rainbow Six Vegas 2 on Xbox One. 

The announcement on Ubisoft’s website lists the full 90 games affected, which span a range of platforms such as PS3, Wii U, Xbox 360, and even the ill-fated OnLive cloud gaming service. These titles will no longer feature online multiplayer, but offline features for each game will remain available.

The server shutdown means that in-game news and play statistics for these Ubisoft games will also be disabled from now on. And any title that used Ubisoft Connect services will no longer let players earn Units and complete Challenges.

While there’s an argument to make that many of the titles are old at this point – along with the platforms included – backward compatibility means that a number of these games will now no longer be fully complete if players revisit them. Several of the affected games can be played on Xbox One, like Just Dance for instance, but won’t have online support anymore.

Here’s the full list of Ubisoft games that no longer have online multiplayer support:

Ubisoft games that no longer have online multiplayer support
Title Platforms
America’s Army
Xbox 360
Anno 1404 PC
Anno Online PC
Assassin’s Creed 2
PC | MAC | iOS | OnLive
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
OnLive
Assassin’s Creed: Recollection
MAC | iOS
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
OnLive
Avatar
PC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Beyond Good and Evil
PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Blazing Angels 2
PC | Xbox 360
Call of Juarez 2: Bound in Blood
PC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Call of Juarez 3: The Cartel
PC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Driver: San Francisco
OnLive
ESPN Sport Connections
Wii U
Far Cry PC
Far Cry 2 PC
Far Cry Blood Dragon
PC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Flashback Origins
PC
Ghost Recon
PC
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2
PC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
H.A.W.X. PC
H.A.W.X. 2
PC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | OnLive
Haze PlayStation 3
Heroes of Might and Magic 5 PC
I Am Alive
PC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Just Dance 3 Xbox 360
Just Dance 3 Greatest Hits
Xbox 360
Just Dance 3 Kids
Xbox 360 | Wii | Wii U
Just Dance 4
PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | Wii U
Just Dance 2014
PlayStation 3 | PlayStation 4| Xbox 360 | Xbox One | Wii | Wii U
Just Dance 2015
PlayStation 3 | PlayStation 4 | Xbox 360 | Xbox One | Wii | Wii U
Just Dance 2016
PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | Wii
Just Dance 2017
PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | Wii
Just Dance 2018
PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | Wii
Just Dance Disney Party
Xbox 360 | Wii
Just Dance Disney Party 2
Xbox 360
Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth
Xbox 360 | Wii U
Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes
PC
Might & Magic Duel of Champions
PC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Might & Magic Showdown
PC
Might & Magic Showdown Paint Workshop
PC
Might & Magic X: Legacy
PC
MotionSports
Xbox 360
MotionSport Adrenaline
PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
My Fitness Coach Club
PlayStation 3
PowerUp Heroes
Xbox 360
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
PC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | OnLive
PureFootball
PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Rabbids Alive and Kicking
Xbox 360
Rabbids Go Home
Wii
Rabbids Land
Wii U
Rabbids Travel in Time
Wii
Rainbow Six – Raven Shield
PC
Rainbow Six Lockdown
PC | Nintendo GameCube | PlayStation 2 | Xbox
Rainbow Six Vegas
PC | PlayStation 3 | PlayStation Portable | Xbox 360
Rainbow Six Vegas 2
PC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | Xbox One
Rayman 3
PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Rayman 3 HD
PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Rayman Legends
PC
Rayman Origins
PC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
R.U.S.E.
MAC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
R.U.S.E. Beta
PC
Scrabble 2007
PC
Scrabble 2009
PC
Settlers 3 PC
Settlers 4 PC
Settlers 6: Rise of an Empire
PC
Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom
PC | MAC
Settlers: Heritage of Kings PC
Shape Fitness Evolved Xbox 360
Shape Up Xbox One
Shaun White Skateboarding
PC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | OnLive
Shaun White Snowboarding
PC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | OnLive
Silent Hunter 3
PC
Silent Hunter 4: U-boat Missions
PC
Silent Hunter 4: Wolves of the Pacific
PC
Silent Hunter 5
OnLive
Smurfs 2
PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Spartacus Legends
PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Wii U
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
PC
Splinter Cell: Conviction
PC | MAC | OnLive
Splinter Cell: Double Agent
PC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
The Adventures of Tintin
PC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Tom Clancy’s EndWar
PC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360
Toy Soldiers War Chest
PC | PlayStation 4 | Xbox One
Watch Dogs Companion
Android | iOS
World in Conflict
PC
Your Shape Fitness Evolved
Xbox 360
Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012
Xbox 360
Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2013
Wii U

Another blow to video game preservation

Rayman Legends

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Seeing so many Ubisoft games lose online support is concerning, especially as there will be people out there who were still playing these games. While it’s easy to understand why a publisher makes these types of decisions – hosting and maintaining servers isn’t free – it’s still disappointing nonetheless.

Thankfully, we’ve seen a resurgence in recent years to preserve video games via backward compatibility. Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo have all been guilty of abandoning the old for the new, but there’s definitely been a clear shift to do more to ensure that older titles can still be played and enjoyed by a new generation of players.

Microsoft, in particular, has led the way with its Xbox backward compatibility program, while Sony will soon offer access to its older titles via its new PS Plus subscription service. Nintendo has taken a similar route, granting Nintendo Switch Online subscribers access to hundreds of NES and SNES games, while those who subscribe to the Expansion Pack tier can play N64 and Sega Genesis games.

In an ideal world, no game would ever need to lose features, nor would gamers need specific hardware to enjoy them. Unfortunately, though, we expect to see more games lose online functionality in the years to come, and more digital storefronts will likely close down.