Ubisoft extends Watch Dogs 2 giveaway after Uplay meltdown

In a year without E3, Ubisoft dangled a big carrot to coax PC gamers to tune into its Ubisoft Forward games showcase on Sunday: a free copy of the fantastic Watch Dogs 2 if you logged into Uplay while the event was being held. Well, while the event itself went off without a hitch, you can’t say the same for Uplay.

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Ubisoft’s PC platform absolutely melted under the load, greeting gamers with a “A Ubisoft service is currently unavailable. Please try again later” message when they tried logging in. The errors started before Ubisoft Forward’s stream began, and continued until long after the stream ended. I know, because I was one of the people frantically trying to claim the game, to no avail.

Fear not. In the midst of the meltdown, Ubisoft Support tweeted that it was aware of the issue. “Don't worry! We'll be giving out the rewards to all of you, even if you were unable to log in successfully. Sit back and enjoy the show!”

The company has already made good on the promise. Monday morning, Ubisoft launched an Ubisoft Forward Rewards claim page on its website. Simply sign into your Uplay account on the page and you’ll “soon” find a copy of Watch Dogs 2 in your Uplay library, while in-game rewards for other games will appear directly within those titles. The freebies might not appear immediately, however. “Please note that the rewards, including the free game, will be delivered starting from July 13, 2020,” Ubisoft’s original announcement for Ubisoft Forward said. “Rewards for unreleased games will be delivered after launch.”

Brad Chacos/IDG

If you’re looking to kill some time while you wait for Watch Dogs 2, be sure to check out our roundup of everything worth knowing about at Ubisoft Forward, as well as our hands-on impressions of Watch Dogs Legion and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.