Ubisoft recently unveiled a brand new Ghost Recon game called Ghost Recon: Breakpoint. The upcoming title acts as a sequel to 2017’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands and includes many fan-requested features. However, despite support for solo gameplay, Breakpoint also requires a constant internet connection. Unsurprisingly, this little caveat hasn’t gone over too well with the established Ghost Recon fanbase.
Ghost Recon: Breakpoint Always-Online Requirement
Ubisoft didn’t directly address Breakpoint’s online requirements during the initial unveiling and subsequent Q&A livestream. However, in a subsequent Twitter post, the studio confirmed that players need a stable online connection to play.
The tweet mentions that such is also the case for Rainbow Six Siege and The Division 2. The problem, though, is that neither Siege nor The Division 2 were ever marketed as purely solo experiences. Fans knew from the start that Siege and The Division 2 are meant to be online multiplayer-focused games. With Breakpoint, Ubisoft leaned heavily into how the game allows players to go in either solo or as a team. Now, many fans feel like Ubisoft misled them.
When the Ghost Recon Reddit community found out about the online requirement, the storm clouds quickly gathered. Subsequent threads like this one and this one are filled with disgruntled fans decrying Ubisoft’s decision. Reliable internet is still a luxury that most people can’t afford, and so that essentially means Breakpoint is a no-go.
Now, to be fair to Ubisoft, the writing was pretty much on the wall. One of Breakpoint’s big selling points is synchronized character progress across solo, co-op, and PvP gameplay. It’s obviously a lot easier to keep everything synced if players are always connected to Breakpoint’s online servers. Not even having the option for offline play is a bummer, but it’s also not terribly surprising.
Ghost Recon: Breakpoint is also not the only single-player game which utilizes a constant internet connection. Io Interactive’s Hitman 2 has a similar requirement. Hitman 2 is technically playable offline, but the experience is so trimmed down as to hardly be worth it.
If Ghost Recon: Breakpoint’s online requirements aren’t a deal-breaker for you, the game launches on October 4.