It’s no secret that the launch of Assassin’s Creed Unity was much closer to a disaster than the publisher would have liked. In recent weeks we’ve highlighted just a handful of the numerous issues being encountered by players, from character missing faces, framerate issues and matchmaking troubles.

Ubisoft Montreal, the studio responsible for creating Unity, has been hard at work updating the game and providing fixes. In fact, Patch 3 released today, bringing several updates to stability and performance, gameplay, AI and crowd animations, matchmaking and connectivity, mission tweaks and updates to the menu and HUD. And announced their plans to help soften the blow to those left with broken game experiences.

Yannis Mallat – CEO of Ubisoft Montreal & Toronto – acknowledged the launch issues today in a post on the game's official website. In his statement, Mallat apologized to gamers for the poor showing of him and his team:

Unfortunately, at launch, the overall quality of the game was diminished by bugs and unexpected technical issues. I want to sincerely apologize on behalf of Ubisoft and the entire Assassin's Creed team. These problems took away from your enjoyment of the game, and kept many of you from experiencing the game at its fullest potential.

Mallat also stated in the post that in addition to providing fixes and updates, Ubisoft would be giving owners of Assassin’s Creed Unity free content for their patience and support.

To show our appreciation for your continued support, we’re making the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Unity Dead Kings DLC free for everyone.

For Season Pass holders, we will also offer the choice of one additional game from a selection of Ubisoft titles for free. More details on the offer for Season Pass holders can be found [at the] AC Unity FAQ.

Experience says that Ubisoft would keep the selection of free games for Season Pass holders limited to older, played-out games, but this isn’t the case. The options available include The Crew, Far Cry 4, Watch Dogs, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Rayman Legends and Just Dance 2015.

For those who don’t already have the Unity Season Pass and are thinking of running out and grabbing it in response to these offers, don’t get too excited. Ubisoft has removed the Season Pass from the marketplace, meaning only players who actually showed confidence in Unity at launch will have a claim on one of these free games. For those of you who do own the Season Pass, the free game can be redeemed until March 15, 2015, so there's no rush to decide which game you want.

What do you think about this announcement? Does this free DLC and additional freebies for series faithful make up for the plethora of launch issues? If you already have the Unity Season Pass, which free game will you be choosing? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Assassin’s Creed Unity is available on Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4, PS3 and PC.

Source: Ubisoft