Assassin's Creed: Black Flag quietly removed from Steam

A fan-favourite Assassin's Creed was unceremoniously yanked from Steam without warning earlier this week, in a startling reminder that digital ownership is bogus.

There is much for Assassin's Creed fans to sink their teeth into over the next few years as Ubisoft triples down on the popular franchise. Assassin’s Creed Mirage is mere weeks away. Then there's a new game set Ancient China, a hugely anticipated Assassin’s Creed set in Japan, and one all about witch trials that should be very interesting.

Take a look at Assassin's Creed Mirage in action below!

A little further down the line, and still unconfirmed, is a remake of fan-favourite Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag. According to multiple reports from earlier this year, it would seem Ubisoft is working on a new-gen remake of the beloved adventure, which would mark the first complete remake of an Assassin's Creed game, rather than a remaster.

Unfortunately, as these rumours continue to swirl, Ubisoft appeared to pull the iconic game from Steam for reasons nobody can quite work out.

As reported by PCGamesN, Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag completely vanished from Steam yesterday (7 September). The game was also removed from the Assassin's Creed bundle, a compilation of all the mainline entries in the franchise.

We have absolutely no idea why the game was pulled from Steam, but it appears to be back now. It may have simply been a mistake, but we've reached out to Ubisoft for comment and will update this story if we hear back.

While we're relieved Black Flag is back after a very brief disappearance, this is an all-too unsettling reminder that digital storefronts are very shaky ground for video game preservation. Classics that are here one day can just be gone the next, and there's never any guarantee they'll actually return.