Ubisoft have decided that their suite of new AAA releases, Assassin's Creed: Unity, Far Cry 4 and The Crew will not be sold on Steam in the UK over the Christmas period. They may appear on the platform at a later date.
Ubisoft told PCGamesN:
“We’ve been in discussions with Valve about Assassin’s Creed Unity but for the time being the game is not available via Steam in the UK,”
“In the meantime, UK customers wishing to purchase the game digitally can do so by visiting the Uplay store, our retail partners or other digital distributors.”
Ubisoft have not been popular recently in the PC market - touting the "advantages" of 30FPS, saying that "no one cares about 1080p" and releasing surprisingly high minimum and recommended requirements for new titles.
But what could the reasoning be behind this move? Aren't they potentially losing out on a massive source of sales for their new titles in a large market area?
There are two things to look at. Ubisoft have their own online platform, Uplay which isn't exactly popular at the moment. It's often derided for a lack of stability and for being an unnecessary layer of DRM and complexity when launching a game. It could be that Ubisoft are trying to 'push' this platform in order to allow it to compete more with Steam.
It's also worth noting that new releases on Steam in the UK tend to top out at £39.99 - although it's not unusual to see them cheaper. Uplay on the other hand list new games at an eye-watering £49.99 - bringing it closer to console parity. It could be that Ubisoft are looking to enforce stricter control over pricing of their titles.
What do you think of this decision from Ubisoft? Are you happy to use Uplay? Will you look for the game on alternative digital retailers like Green Man Gaming? Do you think they're right to withhold the games from Steam? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
Ubisoft told PCGamesN:
“We’ve been in discussions with Valve about Assassin’s Creed Unity but for the time being the game is not available via Steam in the UK,”
“In the meantime, UK customers wishing to purchase the game digitally can do so by visiting the Uplay store, our retail partners or other digital distributors.”
Ubisoft have not been popular recently in the PC market - touting the "advantages" of 30FPS, saying that "no one cares about 1080p" and releasing surprisingly high minimum and recommended requirements for new titles.
But what could the reasoning be behind this move? Aren't they potentially losing out on a massive source of sales for their new titles in a large market area?
There are two things to look at. Ubisoft have their own online platform, Uplay which isn't exactly popular at the moment. It's often derided for a lack of stability and for being an unnecessary layer of DRM and complexity when launching a game. It could be that Ubisoft are trying to 'push' this platform in order to allow it to compete more with Steam.
It's also worth noting that new releases on Steam in the UK tend to top out at £39.99 - although it's not unusual to see them cheaper. Uplay on the other hand list new games at an eye-watering £49.99 - bringing it closer to console parity. It could be that Ubisoft are looking to enforce stricter control over pricing of their titles.
What do you think of this decision from Ubisoft? Are you happy to use Uplay? Will you look for the game on alternative digital retailers like Green Man Gaming? Do you think they're right to withhold the games from Steam? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
