Why Microsoft Is Blocking Windows Updates If You Play Ubisoft Games

With the latest update to Star Wars Outlaws, Ubisoft noted that users running Windows 11 24H2 are susceptible to some annoying issues. However, it appears as if this isn’t the only game from the publisher that’s having problems on Microsoft’s latest operating system. Microsoft has acknowledged in a bulletin that Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Assassin’s Creed Origins, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora are all affected.

Windows users who have these titles installed alongside Windows 11 24H2 have been facing a plethora of problems. The most severe issue is that these “games might become unresponsive while starting, loading or during active gameplay. In some cases, users might receive a black screen.” On the less severe side gamers were also seeing big drops in these games’ performance.


To try and minimize the impact from these issues, Microsoft is now including a compatibility check before applying the Windows 11 24H2 update. If a system has any of the aforementioned games installed, the update will be deferred until a solution to the problem can be implemented by either Microsoft or Ubisoft. Unfortunately, there’s no information provided about when a fix is coming or  what the root issue actually is.

For those who have already installed Windows 11 24H2 and are having issues, Microsoft is providing some information about what users can do when they run into problems. Users are advised to start by opening Task Manager. Once the Task Manager window opens, locate the game under the “Processes” tab, highlight the game’s name and click on the “End Task” button to close the program. This should make the computer responsive again once the game is actually closed.

Hopefully Microsoft and Ubisoft are able to find a fix for this as soon as possible, as many players will undoubtedly want to spend some of their free time during the holidays enjoying their games.