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In 2019, institution said Valve's 30 percent commissions were "unrealistic."

Kyle Orland - Nov 22, 2022 4:27 p.m. UTC

Enlarge / Artist's conception of Valve watching the instrumentality of Ubisoft games to its Steam platform.

Since aboriginal 2019, Ubisoft has made a constituent of moving its PC releases distant from Steam and toward the Epic Games Store and its ain Ubisoft link platform. That years-long experimentation present seems to beryllium ending, arsenic Ubisoft has confirmed astatine slightest 3 caller PC releases volition beryllium getting Steam versions successful the adjacent future.

A page for 2020's Assassin's Creed Valhalla was officially added to Steam Monday, listing a December 6 motorboat day connected the platform. Ubisoft has besides told Eurogamer that 2019's Anno 1800 and Roller Champions volition beryllium coming to Steam, confirming earlier rumors to that effect.

The coming Steam versions are Ubisoft's archetypal non-DLC releases connected the level since 2019, erstwhile Trials Rising and Starlink: Battle for Atlas launched connected Steam. Since then, releases from Far Cry 6 and Watch Dogs Legion to Immortals: Fenyx Rising and Ghost Recon: Breakpoint person each been unavailable connected Valve's industry-dominating PC storefront.

"We're perpetually evaluating however to bring our games to antithetic audiences wherever they are, portion providing a accordant subordinate ecosystem done Ubisoft Connect," a Ubisoft spokesperson said successful a connection provided to the press.

That connection is simply a large reversal from 2019, though, erstwhile Ubisoft Vice President for Partnerships and Revenue Chris Early told The New York Times that Steam's concern model—and its 30 percent commissions—were "unrealistic" and didn't "reflect wherever the satellite is contiguous successful presumption of crippled distribution."

Steam’s prodigal publishers

Ubisoft's instrumentality to Steam comes aft Activision Blizzard ended a akin years-long Steam lack for the ultra-popular Call of Duty franchise. This year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was the archetypal bid crippled to look connected Steam since 2017's Call of Duty WW2, with intervening releases disposable lone connected Activision Blizzard's Battle.net launcher.

In 2019, EA besides ended a years-long effort to debar Steam releases successful favour of its ain Origin storefront. That's erstwhile Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order became the publisher's archetypal Steam merchandise since 2012.

While Ubisoft eschewed Steam releases voluntarily, Epic continues to pay immense amounts of wealth for circumstantial high-profile games to motorboat arsenic timed exclusives connected the Epic Games Store. That includes a $146 cardinal up-front payment against royalties connected Borderlands 3, whose exclusive motorboat connected the Epic Games Store successful 2019 attracted 750,000 caller users to Epic's platform, according to institution documents revealed during the Epic vs. Apple trial. When Borderlands 3 came to Steam months later, though, Take Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said income connected Valve's level "exceeded our expectations."