French publisher Ubisoft drew its conclusion from the PC community’s longstanding criticism of duplication of software clients on digital sales platforms. As the company surprisingly announced, there will be no need to launch the internal desktop app Ubisoft Connect in the background when launching the game via the Steam platform.
The move marks a dramatic shift in distribution for the manufacturer, which for years has tightly tied its ownership to its own ecosystem of apps. This transition will occur gradually through new backend services, providing users with an unhindered gaming experience without additional login windows or load times.
The technical implementation is based on a newly developed system called Ubisoft Connect Services, which handles functions required for game operation (such as online connections or profile data) directly in the background, without the need to launch a full PC client on the system. Metroidvania Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is one of the first games to benefit from the new infrastructure.
According to the official statement, the developers aim to build a smoother, optimized launch experience on Steam and gradually expand this technology into existing and future product portfolios.
The industry views the abandonment of forced integration of its own launchers as a clear concession to user habits. Over the years, other publisher clients that have to be loaded in the background when launched through Steam have received considerable pushback from the gaming community. Other industry giants such as 2K Games have taken this step in the past and pulled their own publishing plans from Valve’s platform.
For Ubisoft, the decision is part of a changing strategy to make its titles available directly on Steam from day one. While basic features like linking a Ubisoft account or syncing saved games will remain in the background, users will no longer have to deal with the hurdle of a separate program window. This step should significantly simplify the user experience on PC systems and mobile devices (such as Steam Deck).
