Ubisoft is walking back another promised feature for its medieval melee combat game For Honor, revealing this week that the game’s single-player story mode requires a persistent online connection in order to function.
The sudden revelation arrives a few weeks before the game is set to launch worldwide, and directly contradicts Steam and Uplay listings that currently advertise an offline campaign mode.
Ubisoft’s latest For Honor retraction arrives after the removal of a promised split-screen multiplayer mode, a gameplay element that the publisher previously described as “a key feature.” While it’s likely that the absence of split-screen multiplayer boils down to a lack of internal development time or focus, the reasoning behind For Honor‘s always-online requirement is murkier.
Noticing a discrepancy between For Honor‘s advertised offline mode and pre-release box-art indicating a persistent online connection requirement, members of gaming forum NeoGAF contacted Ubisoft for clarification. The publisher later confirmed its intentions in a direct response.
“We can confirm that For Honor is an always online experience,” the statement reads. “Some elements of progression, which is hosted online, are shared across story and multiplayer modes. Players will need to be connected to the internet at all times to play For Honor.”
“For Honor offers an engaging single-player, offline campaign and thrilling multiplayer,” the game’s description currently reads on Steam.
Gamers and Ubisoft fans in particular are typically wary of online connection requirements for single-player experiences. Ubisoft previously attempted a similar DRM scheme with Assassin’s Creed II, demanding that players maintain a constant connection with Ubisoft’s servers in order for the game’s storyline to continue. In practice, the requirement ended up booting players from gameplay unexpectedly due to server instability. Ubisoft quietly scaled back Assassin’s Creed II‘s DRM following a fan backlash.
For Honor will launch for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC platforms on February 14, 2017.
