Ubisoft has three big games set to come out in the next few weeks that will most likely sell well, but the publisher has suddenly decided to remove all three games from large digital retailer Steam.
Assassin's Creed Unity, Far Cry 4, and The Crew are all currently missing from the UK and US versions of Steam - the UK store was the first to take the hit, quickly followed by the US. Those hoping to play any of the three games on PC now will have to buy the games from Uplay, or one of the other digital retailers like GreenManGaming. Searching for any of the games on Steam will only bring disappointing results.
As of right now, Ubisoft hasn't explained the removal, but it could be for any number of reasons such as pricing, competition from Steam, or Uplay's own user base improving. If anything, Ubisoft may be going the same way EA did with its Origin platform and Battlefield 3 in 2011, in the sense that it's attempting to turn its digital platform into a necessary, and serious, competitor.
In a statement, a Ubisoft rep told PCGamesN the following, regarding AC Unity no longer being on Steam:
"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."
Uplay has drawn considerable criticism for its perceived lack of quality when compared to its competition. And Ubisoft implementing the platform into almost every game they release is frustrating at times (Uplay points don't help counter those feelings, either). It's also hard to see how this benefits PC players at all. Taking away one retailer - arguably the biggest, and most well-regarded digital games distributor - is likely to be met by strong criticism.
Best case scenario: Ubisoft and Steam make nice, and the trio of games return to Steam at a later date. Until then, we'll have to wait and see how this randomly created situation plays out.
Assassin's Creed Unity releases on November 11, 2014 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One; Far Cry 4 debuts a week later, on November 18, for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One; The Crew (which is currently having a closed console beta) launches on December 2 for PC, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.