You'll need a persistent Internet connection to play Ubisoft's upcoming historical melee combat game, even if you stick to the single-player mode.

"We can confirm that For Honor is an always-online experience," a Ubisoft community representative told a member of the game's official forums this week (that information was later confirmed by Gamespot). "Some elements of progression, which is hosted online, are shared across story and multiplayer modes. Players will need to be connected to the Internet at all times to play For Honor."

Requiring an online connection merely to track single-player "progression" may seem like overkill, but it's not too surprising coming from Ubisoft Montreal. Back in 2013, amid rumors that Microsoft was considering a persistent online connection requirement for its upcoming Xbox One, Ubisoft Montreal CEO Yannis Mallat suggested that gamers might be ready for such a scheme, if it provided tangible benefits.

The For Honor decision follows a long history of Ubisoft games that require online connections for single-player experiences, dating back to 2008's Assassin's Creed port for the PC at the least. Though the company publicly backtracked from its most restrictive online DRM schemes in 2012, the publisher has run into other problems with persistent online functions in its games, from The Division to troubled player-to-player interactions in Watch Dogs 2.

We're still looking forward to trying out For Honor after its planned February launch, and the always-online component is unlikely to have a practical effect for most PC players these days (absent laptop play on an airplane). Still, the idea of requiring an online connection for a decidedly offline portion of the game is a little galling at this point. Here's hoping Ubisoft changes its mind.