Microsoft is blocking the Windows 11 iso 24H2 update on computers with some Ubisoft games, like Assassin’s Creed, Star Wars Outlaws, and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, after changes in the operating system cause the games to crash, freeze, or have audio issues
Microsoft has stopped offering updates to Windows 11 version 24H2 on PCs that have certain Ubisoft games installed, Bleeping Computer reports. The company made the move after complaints that Star Wars Outlaws and games in the Assassin’s Creed series were crashing after installing the new Windows update.
Microsoft confirmed the “compatibility hold” in a status update yesterday evening, and says it’s working with Ubisoft to find a fix. In the meantime, the company recommends against installing the Windows 11 24H2 update manually.
Here is Microsoft’s description of the issue and games affected:
After installing Windows 11, version 24H2, you might encounter issues with some Ubisoft games. These games might become unresponsive while starting, loading or during active gameplay. In some cases, users might receive a black screen. The affected games are:
• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
• Assassin’s Creed Origins
• Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
• Star Wars Outlaws
• Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
Microsoft writes that Ubisoft has released a temporary hotfix to address crashing issues in Star Wars Outlaws, but says that players “might still experience some performance issues.”
“After installing Windows 11, version 24H2, you might encounter issues with some Ubisoft games. These games might become unresponsive while starting, loading or during active gameplay,” Microsoft wrote in a help article about 24H2’s known issues. “To safeguard your Windows update experience, we have applied a compatibility hold on devices with these games installed. These devices will not be offered to install Windows 11 iso, version 24H2 via the Windows Update release channel.” If you’ve already had 24H2 installed and don’t want to wait for a fix to play these games, your best bet is probably rolling back to version 23H2 for the time being.
The combination of the issue’s seeming publisher-specific nature, as well as the decision to preemptively block it on systems with the games installed, is very surprising to me. I don’t recall seeing anything quite like this before. I’m extremely curious about what precisely caused the issue, and whether the fault lies with Microsoft, Ubisoft, or both.
For more news and updates visit this page and make sure to sign up the newsletter.