In a surprising – yet very welcome – move, Ubisoft is opting to trade in its required launcher on PC for more seamless, built-in connectivity that allows players to navigate games through Steam… and Steam only.
It’s a tale as old as time: a company outside of Valve requires players to use its own launcher, even if they’re accessing a game through Steam. EA immediately springs to mind, as does Ubisoft, but the latter is apparently looking to scrap this pesky system in favor of a smoother experience for fans who don’t appreciate a billion log-ins and pop-ups.
It reveals as much in some minor new patch notes for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown over on Steam.
“Introducing Ubisoft Connect Services,” Ubisoft’s announcement begins, dubbing the new integration “a simpler launch experience on Steam” – which, yeah, it certainly sounds like it is.
“Starting with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, we are testing a new Ubisoft Connect Services Steam tool that keeps Ubisoft game features such as cross-progression, cross-play, player safety, challenges and rewards, among others.”
What’s new, though? Well, it’s all “without requiring the Ubisoft Connect PC launcher to be installed or launched.”
As Ubisoft says, “This first version is an initial step toward a smoother and more streamlined launch experience on Steam. We will continue to iterate and improve Ubisoft Connect Services over time, with the goal of delivering the features and services players use and expect while making the Steam experience as seamless as possible.”
It won’t stop with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, either. “Ubisoft Connect Services will progressively evolve and roll out to more Ubisoft games on Steam in the future.” That’s quite exciting, to say the least, seeing as pretty much nobody would prefer the current system.
Over on Reddit, folks are discussing the new system, and, yeah, they’re thrilled. “Imagine how much they had to lose to admit this was needed,” reads the top comment.
“Finally,” another exclaims. “Now add this for all previous titles, and I will buy Ubisoft games again!” And, thankfully, it sounds like that’s precisely what Ubisoft plans to do… and hopefully carries onto new games down the line as well.