Ubisoft donated a large sum for the restoration of Notre-Dame

Image: Assassin's Creed: Unity

Ubisoft continues to support the restoration of Notre-Dame-de-Paris cathedral after a serious fire this Monday. The company decided to donate an impressive sum and make its game Assassin's Creed: Unity, which takes place in Paris, free to download.

“In light of Monday’s events, we will be donating €500,000 to help with the restoration and reconstruction of the Cathedral. We encourage all of you who are interested to donate as well. In addition, we want to give everyone the chance to experience the majesty and beauty of Notre-Dame the best way we know how. For one week, we will be giving Assassin’s Creed Unity away free on PC, for anyone who wants to enjoy it.” – Ubisoft commented.

You can download the game from Uplay or directly from the Ubisoft Store.

Image: Assassin's Creed: Unity

Previously, many media wrote that the model from the game might be used to renovate the cathedral. Later, some of the publishers began to disseminate information that this is a fact, and the government of Paris confirmed that the asset from the game would officially serve as a project for reconstruction.

However, this information was not confirmed. A French media Le Monde refuted these rumors by interviewing the CEO of Life3D, Cédric Gachaud, who, in turn, expressed the opinion that the game model was created from photographs by 3D artists rather than professional architects, and therefore has no value for restoration of the cathedral.

Historian Maxime Durand, who works at Ubisoft Montreal, in an interview to a newspaper La Presse agreed with Gachaud and admitted that Notre-Dame in Assassin’s Creed: Unity has artistic refinements and is not an exact reconstruction of an architectural monument.

Image: architectural reconstruction by Andrew Tallon

We wish to believe in the sincerity of Ubisoft in their desire to help restore the great legacy of architecture, and not the desire for their PR.