Ubisoft Is Giving Away Assassin's Creed: Unity To Drive Donations For Notre-Dame

In case you missed it, Paris's Notre-Dame Cathedral caught fire on Monday, destroying its iconic spire and devastating those who cherished the long-standing French wonder. Now Ubisoft is stepping in to help.

Ubisoft, which is headquartered in Montreuil, France, is giving away free copies of Assassin's Creed: Unity on PC to help raise awareness of the fire and generate donations for the rebuilding of Notre-Dame. On top of that, the company is also donating 500,000 euros itself to aid the rebuilding process, according to Polygon.

Notre-Dame features prominently in Assassin's Creed: Unity, which takes place in France in the late eighteenth century.

"Video games can enable us to explore places in ways we never could have otherwise imagined," Ubisoft said in a statement. "We hope, with this small gesture, we can provide everyone an opportunity to appreciate our virtual homage to this monumental piece of architecture."

Ubisoft isn't alone in helping to fund the repair of Notre-Dame. The French government is also soliciting donations for the effort, and according to The New York Times, almost a billion dollars has been promised by those pledging money to various associated foundations.

French president Emmanuel Macron hopes to have the repairs to Notre-Dame completed in five years.

We have to commend Ubisoft for stepping up and taking action in light of the Notre-Dame fire. The company took great care in recreating Paris in Unity, unsurprising considering Ubisoft's French roots. Simply giving the game away might have seemed like a good enough gesture to many. The fact that the company actually donated to the cause, however, is worth highlighting.

Unity caught a whole lot of flack when it came out, due to various bugs and issues. Those were largely fixed with patches later on. Maybe this will give players a chance to go back and experience the game, and a chance to check out its depiction of Paris — and Notre-Dame Cathedral — with fresh eyes.

Assassin's Creed: Unity originally released in late 2014. If you're interested in picking up your free copy, you can visit the Ubisoft Store website or download Ubisoft's uPlay launcher on your PC. And if you'd like to donate to help with Notre-Dame's rebuilding process, an organization called Friends of Notre-Dame can help you with that, too.