After Years of Rejecting Steam, Ubisoft Has Changed its Tune

For the first time since 2019, Ubisoft will make their games available on Steam on day one starting in February, beginning with AC Shadows. Unfortunately, the news of the game being delayed has hit, but this small bit of positivity remained swept up in the mayhem. It almost seems as though Ubisoft’s apology for delaying Assassin’s Creed: Shadows at what seems like the last minute is to do the single thing that PC players who would prefer not to use the Epic Games launcher have been asking for.

Ubisoft was treading thin ice earlier this week, with fans already speculating a delay in AC Shadows’ release after announcing it would not be attending Tokyo Game Show. Shortly after that announcement, press outlets were made aware that all press previews for the game were canceled. These moves pointed to the game being delayed, but an official announcement hadn’t been made until now. Somehow, the developer managed to make a good thing out of a disappointing situation.

The latest Assassin’s Creed game to hit Valve’s platform was AC Valhalla in 2022. It arrived on Steam about two years after its initial 2020 release, followed by radio silence concerning any other Ubisoft games making their way to the client. However, that changed again when Anno 1800 and Roller Champions were released on Steam, beginning a trend of Ubisoft games making it to Steam several months after their release.

Those marketing strategies, tied with AC Shadow’s delay to ensure time for further polishing, must have solidified Ubisoft’s decision. AC Shadow’s February 14, 2024 release date will “mark the return of our new releases on Steam Day 1,” according to Ubisoft’s statement about the delay. Considering the developer’s poor 2023 financial results, it makes sense that it would want to spend as much time as possible to ensure that Shadows is exactly the game it wants to deliver to fans. Releasing it on Steam on day one is just the cherry on top.