Assassin's Creed: Black Flag was removed from Steam due to a "technical issue," dashing hopes of a shadow-dropped remake.
Last week, fans noticed that the pirate-themed parkour 'em up was missing in action on Valve's storefront with no explanation given. Could it be related to the reported Black Flag remake or something more out of the ordinary? Sadly not - it's just a technical issue.
"We are aware that Assassin's Creed Black Flag is currently unavailable for purchase on Steam," a Ubisoft spokesperson told PCGamer. "This is due to a technical issue, and our teams are working on a solution to bring it back as soon as possible."
Ubisoft clearly wasn't messing around when it said "as soon as possible either", as the game is back on Valve's storefront at the time of writing. Sadly, it's not the remake, but it's something.
If you're confused about what this remake lark is about, Kotaku reported earlier this year that such a project is underway at Ubisoft Singapore – itself working on the often-delayed Skull and Bones, which is an expansion of Black Flag's navel shenanigans. It all comes full circle.
According to the report, development is still in the early stages so you're likely not seeing the rumored remake for a while, if it does end up happening. Rather, next up for the series is Assassin's Creed Mirage, due to release October 5, 2023 – a whole one week earlier than originally planned.
As for Skull and Bones, the much-delayed pirate game is due to release "early 2023-24", though that's certainly looking more like 2024 at the moment.
Assassin's Creed Mirage can thankfully be beaten in 20-30 hours, five times shorter than Valhalla.
