Gaming

Assassin’s Creed Game Getting Modern Console Upgrade After 12 Years

Ubisoft’s backward compatibility initiative has been stronger than most other publishers. The company has continually updated many of its games from the last generation to run better when played on modern hardware. And after many years of asking, Ubisoft is finally updating one of the more divisive entries: Assassin’s Creed Unity.

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As noted in its blog talking about the franchise’s future, Ubisoft finished off the post by talking about how Unity will receive a 60 frames per second patch on both PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on March 5th. Unity will also be part of Xbox Free Play Days from April 2nd to April 6th, so players in that ecosystem can try this newly updated adventure for no extra cost. Unity also currently runs at 60 frames per second on Xbox Series X|S thanks to FPS Boost, but it is still getting this update (which will likely tweak more than the frame rate).

Ubisoft Has a Long History With Current-Gen Updates

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Ubisoft didn’t give many other details regarding the update. However, according to the tech analysts at Digital Foundry, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, the last Assassin’s Creed game to get such a patch, runs at a “soft 4K” and had some dropped frames (even on PS5 Pro) but mostly runs smoothly at 60 frames per second. It was then speculated that Unity would also encounter similar issues.

Assassin’s Creed Origins and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, two other titles that received current-gen patches, were much more consistent. Digital Foundry’s analysis noted that the two “generally maintain” 60 frames per second and mostly hug that target almost “perfectly.” They use dynamic resolution scaling, meaning Xbox Series X players get a full 4K, while the PS5 version tops out at 1620p.

It is currently possible to play Unity at 60 frames per second on modern hardware, though. However, this requires playing the game at its 1.0 version, something that is only easy for those with the physical disc. And this also means sacrificing the many updates and bug fixes that followed Unity‘s disastrous launch. There are a handful of games like this that have unlocked frame rates in earlier versions, like The Last Guardian and Batman: Arkham City.

With Syndicate, Odyssey, Origins, and now Unity all running better on modern consoles, Ubisoft only has a few more entries to patch up. Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection, Assassin’s Creed 3 Remastered, Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered, and Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag are all locked at 30 frames per second on PS5. However, Xbox Series X|S owners get to enjoy these games at 60 frames per second, excluding Black Flag (and including the first Assassin’s Creed). Perhaps the recently confirmed Black Flag remake means it doesn’t need a current-gen patch, though.

Ubisoft has also spread this practice to many of its other titles. The titles that have received these patches include For Honor, Far Cry 3: Classic Edition,ย Far Cry 3 Blood Dragonย Classic Edition,ย Far Cry Primal, Far Cry 4, Far Cry 5, Far Cry New Dawn, The Crew 2, The Division, The Division 2, and Ghost Recon Breakpoint. There are notable exceptions like Watch Dogs and Watch Dogs 2, but many of the publisher’s biggest games are still getting enhancements like this, as three of those Far Cry games only just recently got their updates. This gradual string of patches is enough to likely give players some hope that their favorites will one day see such treatment.


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