In an effort to celebrate the Notre-Dame in Paris, France, Ubisoft has announced it will be giving away Assassin's Creed Unity for free on PC. Moreover, the studio will be donating money towards the restoration of the historical landmark, which was damaged in a fire earlier this week.

In a post published to the official Ubisoft blog, the company said it wants to "give everyone the chance to experience the majesty and beauty of Notre-Dame the best way we know how." The game, which takes place during the time of the French Revolution, allows players to explore Notre-Dame, as well as numerous French landmarks. Players will be able to download the PC version of the game through Uplay (Ubisoft's game launcher).

The company says that in doing this, it hopes to "provide everyone an opportunity to appreciate our virtual homage to this monumental piece of architecture." Assassin's Creed Unity can be downloaded for free here.

As well as making Assassin's Creed Unity free, Ubisoft will also be donating €500,000 (equivalent to just over $564,000) to help with the restoration and reconstruction of the Notre-Dame Cathedral. Ubisoft encourages those who are interested to donate to the restoration and reconstruction fund too.

$950 million has been donated to the Notre-Dame restoration fund already, as companies like Apple have also offered to help. Ubisoft's contribution may be a small part in that but many gamers are praising the company for its support. Ubisoft's tweet announcing the decision to make Assassin's Creed Unity free has almost 7,000 retweets and more than 20,000 likes.

In the replies of the freebie announcement tweet, Ubisoft also addressed the suggestion that Assassin's Creed Unity could be used to help rebuild the Notre-Dame. The company revealed that it is "not currently involved in the construction" of the Notre-Dame Cathedral, but it would be "more than happy to lend our expertise in any way we can!" Ubisoft's open-world game may not be used to help bring the Notre-Dame back to its former glory, but, with the money put forward by the company and fans who donate, it will still be able to contribute.

Source: Ubisoft