Ubisoft Launches Uplay PC Distribution & Social Platform

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By Kevin Parrish
published

Move over Steam and Origin: here comes Uplay PC from Ubisoft with loads of discounts in tow.

It's true: I have no friends.

Ubisoft officially launched Uplay PC on Thursday during Gamescom 2012, its own digital distribution and social platform for PC gamers.

According to Ubisoft, Uplay PC replaces individual game launchers and lets players access all their Uplay-enabled PC games and Uplay services in the same place. But like Steam, users must download a desktop app which enables friend chat and enhances shopping right from the desktop. Game saves and serial keys are stored in the cloud, allowing users to install their favorite titles anywhere and resume where they left off.

“Uplay PC is a great way for customers to discover Ubisoft’s games, connect with their friends and gaming communities, and win achievements and content that’s not available anywhere else.” said Stephanie Perotti, Worldwide Director for Online Games, Ubisoft. “For PC gamers that are already fans of Ubisoft’s titles or have been considering trying some of our classics, this promotion is a great deal, and our way of saying thank you for their support.”

To celebrate the launch of Uplay PC, the company is offering PC versions of Driver: San Francisco, From Dust, Silent Hunter 5 and Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2 for just $1 USD for a limited time. Other popular titles -- including Anno 2070, Assassin's Creed II, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, Assassin's Creed Revelations, Might & Magic: Heroes VI, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction -- are discounted up to 75-percent, also for a limited time.

Ultimately through the PC client, Ubisoft customers can browse and re-download their games (without having to worry about OS-crashing DRM), redeem rewards for all platforms, play supported titles offline, browse through the integrated shop, and discover free-to-play games and demos. Sound familiar? It should -- that's similar to what Steam and EA's Origin offers. What this new platform launch means for Ubisoft's support on Valve's Steam service is unknown at this point, and we've reached out for a comment.

For more information about Uplay PC, or to download the actual client, head here.

UPDATE: "Today’s Ubisoft’s Uplay PC announcement does not change our ongoing support of Steam," a rep told Tom's Hardware in an email.

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Kevin Parrish
31 Comments Comment from the forums
  • shin0bi272
    so wait if they arent dropping their steam support... why do we need this?
    Reply
  • tomfreak
    Just checked, good news, I login their web with my Uplay login and I have my steam ubisoft game there. Hopefully can by pass the steam DRM. *(update, see post below, it wont allow me to download my steam ubisoft game, so F* them)

    Buying ubisoft game in steam = Use steam + Uplay to play = which sucks more than just Uplay alone.
    Reply
  • Steelwing
    I'm not touching Ubisoft anything with a 10-foot pole.
    Reply
  • bustapr
    that 1euro game deals are very good. But I cant help but feel like they shouldnt be on the USA part of the website -.- ubisoft trying to lure unsuspecting gamers into its service with some false advertising?
    Reply
  • MAC_HATER
    getting real sick of yer sh*t PC games industry - i now count at least 6-8 separate proprietary content delivery systems that are choked down with DRM interfering with the experience - if this crap keeps up im going to have to just buy the games, stash them in a cupboard without even opening them, and download the cracked version thats stripped of the parent handler application and DRM just to avoid having to stuff around with this nonsense!
    Reply
  • fenixkane
    As long as Steam support isn't cut, there isn't an issue for them or any other customers, and this does make sense from a business standpoint.
    It gives them a direct outlet to sell to gamers that does not have any middleman, meaning they get 100% of the profits per purchase. If, for some reason, a player really wanted to make sure Ubisoft gets 100% of the money from their purchase, they now have an outlet to do that.
    That said, I'll still be buying my games off of Steam. Also I wont buy anything with extremely restrictive DRM, which Ubisoft has up the nose, so I wont be buying their games regardless. (And yes, while Steam itself is a form of DRM, it doesn't hinder me from doing much, and I get a ton of services and other benefits to counter-balance it)
    Reply
  • tomfreak
    Update, F* them. They are worst than Origin. I just installed Uplay, and my steam Ubisoft game that require Uplay to launch isnt there.

    Dont bother using it until they allow steam user to download the game there.
    Reply
  • alidan
    who would get a ubisoft game on the pc?
    Reply
  • I'm afraid that every publisher now is going to make their own digital distribution platform, eventually leading to a "walled garden" approach to distributing of their new titles. EA did this with Crysis 2 under the guise of a contract dispute with Steam shortly after Origin opened and then didn't bother hiding their intentions with Battlefield 3 nor Mass Effect 3 (both of which I still do not own). Hopefully, Ubisoft doesn't follow EA's example.
    Reply
  • Cons29
    to be honest, i like several of their games, but with the issues i've been reading i wont buy any of those unless it is a very very good game. but with my back log of games, they won't get anything from me anytime soon
    Reply