Summary
- A Windows 11 update has made Assassin’s Creed Origins, among other games, unstable.
- Users have reported frequent freezes and crashes.
- Players have been review bombing Origins as a result.
It’s unfortunate timing for Ubisoft, as a 90 per cent sale on Assassin’s Creed Origins has coincided with a Windows 11 update (24H2) that makes the game unstable and crash-prone. The result is a swarm of negative reviews that have dropped one of the more beloved Assassin’s Creed instalments to the dreaded “mixed” recent reviews categorisation on Steam.
Although 24H2 began rolling out in October, there weren’t many reports until recent weeks about how the update was negatively affecting games like Origins and Path of Exile 2. The majority of the recent negative reviews of Origins are centred around technical issues caused by the update.
Windows Taketh Away
“The negative review isn’t based on my gameplay. I have not yet played the game because of some issues causing it to freeze 5 minutes into the game,” reads one review. “This game is unplayable on Windows 10 as well as 11. Same problem for years and [Ubisoft] still haven’t bothered with it. I have bought this on Epic, Steam and Uplay, and all the same problem. The game won’t get passed the loading splash screen. Steam should be pulling this game from the store, seriously,” concurs another reviewer.
Users have reported similar problems with other games, like the aforementioned Path of Exile 2 and Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader. Although the controversy isn’t quite Ubisoft’s fault, consumers are taking issue with the company selling the game on sale while the problems persist.
Ubisoft has yet to release a statement on the ongoing issues with Assassin’s Creed Origins. Microsoft has a page of known issues with the 24H2 update which its engineers are working through.
As for Ubisoft’s prospects, the company’s next big release is Assassin’s Creed Shadows on February 14. The release comes amidst an internal shake-up within the publicly traded company, where the founding Guillemot family reportedly want to take the company private, along with the Chinese holding company Tencent. Rumours of an imminent takeover caused a temporary spike in the company’s stock price in December, but any potential buyouts have yet to materialize.
Ubisoft also recently announced that arcade shooter XDefiant will be shutting down after failing to attract a big enough player base.
Assassin’s Creed Origins takes the series back to the very beginning of the Brotherhood, putting you in the role of Bayek. The story is one of revenge, and features a large, open-world realisation of Ancient Egypt.