Home Gaming Ubisoft abandoning Steam, learning from EA

Ubisoft abandoning Steam, learning from EA

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136

Uplay origin steam

Steam proved an important point – there are tons of PC gamers and they like to buy their games digitally, preferably at a discount. There is an army of PC gamers, and with the launch of new generation consoles, it seems that even more gamers converted to the PC master race. But now Ubisoft is changing the game with Steam, just like EA did.

When EA launched Origin, it received a ton of hate. It was a horrible application that caused computers to act like they were possessed by evil spirits. However, over time, it seems that people have come to terms with it. Sure, they wish all the games were just on one launcher, but in the end they still get to play their preferred games on PC. Plus, EA started to give away some pretty cool titles via Origin, sweetening the deal.

As I told you yesterday, Ubisoft started by pulling its new games (Assassin’s Creed Unity, Far Cry 4 and The Crew) from the UK version of Steam. However, soon after publication, it escalated and Ubisoft actually pulled those titles from the US version, too. While we might still argue that it’s about the price points accepted by Steam, I think something far larger is at play.

Uplay is Ubisoft’s account system. It was a cool way to link your Ubisoft products across platforms; I first used it for Assassin’s Creed II: Brotherhood when they launched a tie-in Facebook game that would give rewards. While it could have just been an extra login to help you earn points and give added bonuses if you owned multiple Ubisoft products, the publisher has now decided to take a page out of EA’s book, and it makes sense why.

While gamers might hate it, Ubisoft probably figures that they’re big enough now that people will want to play their titles, even if they don’t find them through Steam. Much like EA, they think that their games will draw players to whatever launcher they decree, even if it means using Uplay. Sure, PC gamers will rage for a while, but eventually they will opt to just download the Uplay launcher, especially if Ubisoft starts to give away free games via Uplay. By moving away from Steam, Ubisoft gets to keep all the profit without paying them any fees. Sure, they might take a knock in sales originally, but they probably assume that they’ll earn it back over time.

We have reached out to Ubisoft for comment. What do you think of this move? Is it just plain stupid to leave Steam, or will Ubisoft benefit in the long run? Remember, GoG.com is also putting out a launcher soon – one without any DRM. That will bring the game launcher count to four… and might make PC gamers explode.

Last Updated: November 7, 2014

136 Comments

  1. Admiral Chief Wang

    November 7, 2014 at 08:07

    We don’t want your uPlay poefies anyway!

    Good bye, and thanks for all the poorly optimized fish

    Reply

  2. Admiral Chief Wang

    November 7, 2014 at 08:12

    Looking forward to the GoG launcher!

    Reply

    • Mossel

      November 7, 2014 at 08:57

      GoG Galaxy!!

      Reply

  3. Hammersteyn

    November 7, 2014 at 08:13

    No one use battle.net anyway.

    Reply

    • Jedi Consular Kromas

      November 7, 2014 at 09:24

      All wow players do.

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        November 7, 2014 at 09:36

        Zoe mentioned four clients, battle.net makes five

        Reply

        • Jedi Consular Kromas

          November 7, 2014 at 09:39

          Oh I think I misinterpreted your comment. 😛

          Reply

        • Cat

          November 7, 2014 at 10:46

          I use it and its very simple and just works. Every big publisher needs a portal for their own games. Activision uses Steam as it connects a larger base of users and it knows that & battle.net will cater for the core Blizzard fans.

          Reply

  4. Lynley James

    November 7, 2014 at 08:14

    As long as they sort out the resource hogging and other tech issues, I am all for more competition . Sucks having 4 launchers hogging system resources, but competition is always welcome.

    Reply

  5. Ceyber, Hans

    November 7, 2014 at 08:16

    I want to boycott these buggers as much as the next guy, but I get the decision business-wise.
    And I agree that we whine and complain but in the end we’ll use whatever platform our desired game comes out on/is sold through.
    I HATE Uplay, but to be honest if they concentrate on getting UI functionality and get some good deals going, I guess I wouldn’t mind (yeah i said it), especially with Steam, GOG and EA to compete with these days,

    Ubisoft have enough of their own IP’s to make this work no?

    Reply

    • Cadis Etrama Di Umar

      November 7, 2014 at 08:28

      I have to agree with you, I can understand this from a business point of view. Cutting out the middle man. Sux though, at the end of the day we gonna be sitting with all these clients and portals from which to buy games. The only problem I have is that this all seems like a huge push to make games a service…And thats bad

      Reply

      • Ceyber, Hans

        November 7, 2014 at 08:53

        Yeah I know what you mean, it’s a really bad direction to go in.
        It’s like a steamroller though, how the heck do we stop it?
        We could form a band of guerrilla ninjas and take out the evil corporations with advanced cyber-warfare?
        Exosuits included. Obviously.

        Reply

        • ToshZA

          November 7, 2014 at 08:55

          The only way it stops is if we as gamers don’t use it, ie: don’t buy their games. That won’t happen though, so one way or another we’re stuck with these decisions.

          Reply

          • Deceased

            November 7, 2014 at 16:39

            Ghwell… I don’t do EA titles anymoar – don’t care HOW good people say Origin has become ( sad that I’m missing out on DA:I though )… and I was severely looking forward to FC4 ( wanted to pre-purchase it this morning )… but that’s not happening… so I’m just saying – instead of selfishly buying into the “I might as well because everyone else is” mentality, boycott these “buggers” to prove that the master race is not to be f**ked with :/

  6. L337J1MB0B

    November 7, 2014 at 08:18

    Makes one wonder what does this mean for Steam in the long run, if publishers continue to jump ship.

    Reply

    • Reid

      November 7, 2014 at 08:20

      Well it will only be the big guys, but that does include a lot of games. Next up Activision? Steam might just become the indie platform.

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        November 7, 2014 at 08:20

        Or Bethesda?

        Reply

        • Reid

          November 7, 2014 at 08:25

          And going on their record of buggy games that thing will cause your pc to explode

          Reply

        • Captain JJ the pout

          November 7, 2014 at 08:26

          Bethesda: Ruining one franchise at a time.

          Reply

          • Hammersteyn

            November 7, 2014 at 08:27

            When can we expect the TESO version of Fallout from them?

          • Captain JJ the pout

            November 7, 2014 at 08:31

            I shudder to think about it.

      • ToshZA

        November 7, 2014 at 08:52

        Blizzard already have a working (and quite nice) launcher for their games, so it won’t be a stretch to make an ActiBlizzard one really.

        Reply

    • Jerry

      November 22, 2014 at 22:27

      It means devs won’t have to pay Valve 30% of the sales anymore which leads to lots more money made for devs which will mean more games to enjoy 🙂

      Reply

      • bob

        December 3, 2014 at 17:38

        They don’t pay 30%. Steam works out a Deal with larger companies to take less. Probably a set dollar amount instead of percentage.

        Reply

  7. Captain JJ the pout

    November 7, 2014 at 08:20

    I’ll never buy off Uplay. It’s in EURO, the games are sometimes R100+ more than it is in Steam or in a physical store. Go f&*^ yourself Ubi

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief Wang

      November 7, 2014 at 08:23

      Well said

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        November 7, 2014 at 08:24

        Cant the master race cast Gabe or something 😛

        Reply

    • Tarisma

      November 7, 2014 at 08:36

      Go look at the preorder price for the division on the uPlay store.

      Reply

      • Captain JJ the pout

        November 7, 2014 at 08:44

        madness

        Reply

      • Admiral Chief Wang

        November 7, 2014 at 08:46

        I’m afraid to go look….what is it at?

        Reply

        • Tarisma

          November 7, 2014 at 08:56

          Looked a couple weeks ago its something stupid like R1000

          Reply

          • Captain JJ the pout

            November 7, 2014 at 08:59

            Pretty much around there.

          • Admiral Chief Wang

            November 7, 2014 at 09:17

            WHAT?

          • R1ker

            November 7, 2014 at 10:20

            holy crap – sorry but I definitely won’t be buying of them. I did check their prices also a while back out of curiosity and it is way more expensive than steam. I like the AC games but I don’t like the R1000 much. Babaai AC franchise for me.

  8. Reid

    November 7, 2014 at 08:23

    What we need now is a unifying platform to link all the others. You still buy games through steam, origin and uplay, but they are launched from 1 app. I just want all my games in 1 library dammit. I don’t care who gets the money.

    Reply

    • Skyblue

      November 7, 2014 at 08:27

      U can already add non-Steam titles to Steam.

      Reply

      • Reid

        November 7, 2014 at 08:34

        Yes, but you still need origin or uplay to run games that use those services, but it does help for other ones

        Reply

        • Skyblue

          November 7, 2014 at 09:01

          You can add but it isn’t perfect, agreed. Works fine for my GOG games though and Uplay is horrible whether using it on it’s own or through Steam.

          Reply

          • Captain JJ the pout

            November 7, 2014 at 09:03

            Yes. It’s just not the same if you don’t have all the nice little things like the news feeds, workshop, and all the handy links.

          • Skyblue

            November 7, 2014 at 10:24

            Agreed

    • konfab aka derp

      November 7, 2014 at 09:30

      Super secret way to do this:
      Make a folder on your computer.
      Make shortcuts to the games in the folder

      Reply

      • ToshZA

        November 7, 2014 at 09:32

        Ah, don’t reveal our sicrits. Ermergerd!!!!!

        Reply

      • Reid

        November 7, 2014 at 10:24

        Wow dude, that is too old school.

        Reply

    • pliskin

      November 7, 2014 at 17:34

      I think publishers need to face reality that DRM is not fun.

      Reply

  9. Kensei Seraph Never Forget Ouk

    November 7, 2014 at 08:24

    • Hammersteyn

      November 7, 2014 at 08:25

      Ironically this will be the kind of gamers playing Ubisoft titles.

      Reply

  10. Captain JJ the pout

    November 7, 2014 at 08:25

    All this means to me is I’d MAYBE buy the games physically. But since I don’t really do that much anymore it probably means I just won’t buy the games.

    Reply

    • R1ker

      November 7, 2014 at 10:22

      Agree with you on that. The euro rand conversion is really not doing it for me. If i find a deal at Musica or BT games i MIGHT pick it but since I don’t really shop for physical copies anymore I doubt it.

      Reply

  11. Kensei Seraph Never Forget Ouk

    November 7, 2014 at 08:27

    I think I’ll wait 5 or 6 years and see how bad it is then.
    I did the same for Steam and it worked out quite nicely.
    Origin, however, I only gave 3 years and it’s… okayish.

    Reply

    • L337J1MB0B

      November 7, 2014 at 08:28

      I know PC guys love Steam, but lets face it they pretty much have a monopoly at this stage which is never a good thing. Embrace change.

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief Wang

        November 7, 2014 at 08:29

        However, even though they reign supreme, that power has not gone to their head, if anything, they are getting better

        Reply

        • L337J1MB0B

          November 7, 2014 at 08:31

          All it takes is 1 prick in a leadership role for that to change.

          Reply

          • Jedi Consular Kromas

            November 7, 2014 at 09:27

            Valve has no hierarchy as depicted below.

      • Captain JJ the pout

        November 7, 2014 at 08:30

        It’s not about that. That’s where people get it wrong. It’s about giving us the CHOICE to buy where the f*&% we want and use the client we prefer.

        Reply

        • R1ker

          November 7, 2014 at 10:24

          I agree – I would like to have a choice to buy it either of Udon’tPlay or Steam. That is kinda the grype I have with Origin as well. I just wish Origin can also have a back up games function the way steam does

          Reply

          • Captain JJ the pout

            November 7, 2014 at 10:47

            Yes. I tried to back up my Origin games. Turns out you have to practically copy over your documents files AND your origin files for them to actually work.

    • Her Highness the Hipster

      November 7, 2014 at 08:34

      very true. remember how everyone /hated/ steam when it was first launched?

      Reply

      • Captain JJ the pout

        November 7, 2014 at 08:36

        I also wasn’t too fond of it, but that’s because our internet was terrible back then and it made it such a hassle. Now that it’s easier to get decent internet (in Cape Town at least), it works like a charm.

        Reply

        • Reid

          November 7, 2014 at 08:40

          Yeah I hated steam because it took forever for me to download games from it, especially if something went wrong and the download started over. Now that I have faster internet I love it. Even big games are downloaded in 1 night, the huge ones might be 2-3 days, but I’m ok with that.

          Reply

      • Admiral Chief Wang

        November 7, 2014 at 08:36

        People still hate it since waaaaaayyyyyyyyyy back when, incorrectly

        Reply

      • Kensei Seraph Never Forget Ouk

        November 7, 2014 at 08:37

        I had 56k back then so no I don’t remember everyone hating Steam.
        What I do remember is me hating Steam and then leaving it alone until a few years ago when I got ADSL.

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief Wang

          November 7, 2014 at 08:39

          Aye, the problem was not so much with Steam, the problem was with our crappy SA interwebs

          Reply

          • Kensei Seraph Never Forget Ouk

            November 7, 2014 at 08:43

            I remember when I bought Portal 2.
            It was a Day 1 purchase for me and I got home, inserted the disc, opened Steam, installed Portal 2, clicked play and prepared for awesome and then had a 2 f***ing hour update.

            Oh how I raged at Steam and Telkom.
            Now that I have a faster line and I have gotten used to digital downloads it doesn’t phase me as much.

          • Admiral Chief Wang

            November 7, 2014 at 08:46

            Games don’t cause rage, bad internet causes rage

          • Jedi Consular Kromas

            November 7, 2014 at 09:29

            Friend called me and said he is buying a new game on steam and wants me to do the same. Popped open my app and bought the game and when I got home it was installed and ready to play.

            Steam works as advertized. 🙂

            Except for their backup system. 😛

  12. Skyblue

    November 7, 2014 at 08:28

    Steam atm and it was fucking horrible when they first started it. Although I’d like to see the DRM free GOG launcher as there seem to be a lot of sensible people running GOG.

    Reply

  13. Kensei Seraph Never Forget Ouk

    November 7, 2014 at 08:32

    I’m not really bothered so much by the use of system resources.
    I make sure to kill the processes that aren’t in active use and have the “run on start” set to false for all my clients.

    Reply

  14. Captain JJ the pout

    November 7, 2014 at 08:33

    Steam supports a community. It has Greenlight. It supports millions of indies. It tries to really get people together with the same interests. Uplay and Origin are sales platforms that allow you to play games on them.

    Reply

    • Reid

      November 7, 2014 at 08:36

      Well for now. Steam was that originally as well, but it has had years to grow and expand.

      Reply

      • Captain JJ the pout

        November 7, 2014 at 08:37

        Difference being that Steam doesn’t only sell Valve games.

        Reply

        • Reid

          November 7, 2014 at 08:43

          It took them about 2 years before 3rd party games became available. Origin might expand eventually as well. After all if there is money to be made EA will be there.

          Reply

          • Captain JJ the pout

            November 7, 2014 at 08:47

            Ubi already doesn’t only sell Ubisoft games, though their range is extremely limited. But it still comes down to that one thing: Choice.
            It’s almost 2015 for sh&*^ sake.

          • Reid

            November 7, 2014 at 08:52

            2015. I’m looking forward to lawyers being abolished, automated clothing and flying cars and hoverboards

          • Captain JJ the pout

            November 7, 2014 at 08:55

            The way things are looking I’m worried we turn into one of those satirical sci-fi movies where companies control the choices you have to make. Oh wait. ;P
            Hoverboards would be nice though. Considering old sci-fi movies, then according to Escape from LA (damn great movie) we’re actually not doing so badly.

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            November 7, 2014 at 09:37

            Yeah well, this makes me feel like switching off the planet just like Snake did. Fuck it.

          • Weanerdog

            November 7, 2014 at 09:44

            Surely you mean Escape from New York.

          • Captain JJ the pout

            November 7, 2014 at 10:06

            I enjoyed both, but actually think LA is my favoured one. (Please don’t shoot me for saying that) ;P

          • Weanerdog

            November 7, 2014 at 14:38

            Maybe I have rose coloured glasses but I really did not enjoy Escape from LA, I think Snake surfing the dodgy CGI wave was just so bad. No I won’t shoot you for that but riddle me this? What is your favourite Star Wars Movie. Remember this is trick question.

          • Captain JJ the pout

            November 7, 2014 at 14:45

            I think I was too young to notice the bad GCI in the wave scene.
            Okay, now this is a tough one…but I’m a huge SW fan, so I MIGHT be safe here.
            My favourite SW is IV,V and VI.

          • Weanerdog

            November 7, 2014 at 15:49

            That was too easy,.

          • Captain JJ the pout

            November 7, 2014 at 16:02

            Haha. Star Wars fans 😉

      • Admiral Chief Wang

        November 7, 2014 at 08:38

        Sure, however, they already went through the teething phases. For Origin and upoefieplay, for them NOT to take these lessons to heart, amounts to being idiots

        Reply

        • Reid

          November 7, 2014 at 08:44

          Well yes, if there is one thing no one will argue about it is that the big guys in charge of EA and Ubisoft are idiots. Greedy idiots.

          Reply

          • Ceyber, Hans

            November 7, 2014 at 08:45

            Hear hear!

  15. ToshZA

    November 7, 2014 at 08:49

    Worst story of the week arrives on the Friday morning. GG Ubisoft. And FU x 9001.

    Reply

  16. Ross Woofels Mason

    November 7, 2014 at 08:55

    Eh people will go where the game are.

    Having to have all these fucking accounts and clinets is annoying as balls, and well personally it puts me off buying their games if they are not on steam, as steam is the reason I got back into PC gaming over consoles.

    But I dont see it affecting sales by drastic amounts, someone who really wants to play FarCry 4 will go and buy it on origin, same for Assassins creed.

    Reply

    • ToshZA

      November 7, 2014 at 08:58

      *Uplay

      But yes you’re right. And that’s the inherent problem with us as gamers. We enable decisions like this because we just go “meh, I want to play it so whatever, I’ll deal.” Which is wrong, of course, but that’s how we are as a community.

      Reply

      • Alien Emperor Trevor

        November 7, 2014 at 09:35

        If I remember correctly from the last time I logged into Origin, Ubi games were available there too. I’m not going to go look again to make sure.

        Reply

    • frikkenator

      November 7, 2014 at 13:00

      Either that or piracy will sky rocket. My money is on the latter.

      Reply

      • Captain JJ the pout

        November 7, 2014 at 13:14

        Ubisoft’s new slogan should be: Promoting Piracy!

        Reply

  17. JackTRipper

    November 7, 2014 at 08:58

    No N7 here from what I can See either

    Reply

  18. Viking Of Divinity

    November 7, 2014 at 09:00

    I will not let this Stand, There was a Week, a full M*******F****** WEEK that I couldn’t log in to Uplay. A Full F****** week. That’s just BS, and It didn’t want to let me login in offline mode to play the games I f**** paid for! F*** Uplay Forever!

    Reply

    • Skyblue

      November 7, 2014 at 09:02

      THIS!

      Reply

    • Captain JJ the pout

      November 7, 2014 at 09:02

    • R1ker

      November 7, 2014 at 10:32

      I had the exact same thing a while ago. Totally pissed me off. Luckily i found in a forum somewhere that i can add certain ip’s in my host file and that actually allowed me to connect to the servers again. But this Sh*t should not have even happen to begin with.

      Reply

  19. Viking Of Divinity

    November 7, 2014 at 09:12

    Wait, What about the people that pre-ordered through Steam? Did they get refunded in any way? Did their pre-orders move? What happened there? That’s what I want to know.

    Reply

    • Captain JJ the pout

      November 7, 2014 at 09:13

      Good question.

      Reply

    • R1ker

      November 7, 2014 at 10:33

      I want to know that as well. I noticed from Zoe first article a post of someone who did pre-order and now his game is gone

      Reply

  20. Jedi Consular Kromas

    November 7, 2014 at 09:24

    Count is actually 5. You missed the Blizzard app. Also Origin made your PC crazy but fact of the matter is the games sorta still worked. Uplay games takes hours or even days to get working on Uplay. I am already skipping Far Cry because of it and you can be damn sure many other people will do the same.

    Ubisoft needs to die a short but bright death.

    Reply

    • ToshZA

      November 7, 2014 at 09:31

      The worst part about Uplay for me is how I can’t seem to find a list of my games. Not a list, no. Games tab? Just my most recently added. FU Ubicrap.

      Reply

      • Jedi Consular Kromas

        November 7, 2014 at 09:33

        Yep. I really think a 2 year old programmed that piece of crap.

        Reply

        • ToshZA

          November 7, 2014 at 09:36

          A 2 year old might’ve done a better job imho.

          Reply

  21. Alien Emperor Trevor

    November 7, 2014 at 09:34

    lol, I didn’t think they’d do that. Well okay then, bye bye Ubisoft – it was fun while it lasted.

    Reply

    • Jedi Consular Kromas

      November 7, 2014 at 09:35

      Can’t say I will miss them and the only thing that might pull me in to buy a game is Beyond Good and Evil 2.

      Reply

      • ToshZA

        November 7, 2014 at 09:35

        I just got Child of Light from my gf, not realising it was a ubicrap title. Forced to open Uplay again. 🙁

        Reply

  22. UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy

    November 7, 2014 at 09:36

    Kind of liked the “trophy” stuff I got through Uplay actually. I liked the idea when it started. Although it is bloatware in the end.

    THAT said… If the things doesn’t fucking work then I am going to be royally pissed! I want to play my fucking games when I want to!

    Reply

  23. RustedFaith

    November 7, 2014 at 09:41

    Bye bye ubiturd dont let the door hit you on the way out.

    Reply

  24. Weanerdog

    November 7, 2014 at 09:42

    Have not bought a Ubisoft game since the DRM on Assassins creed 2 out of principal. And yes I use other drm so a hypocrite I know but they are the buggers who started it.

    It feels like I should add something about an upcoming game sans DRM here.

    Reply

    • Jedi Consular Kromas

      November 7, 2014 at 09:48

      DRM and Ubisoft DRM are not the same thing so you are not a hypocrite. Case in point. EA DRM back in the day did not blow up your cd-rom. Ubisoft’s did.

      Reply

      • ferreira0665

        November 12, 2014 at 23:35

        What are you talking about? DRMs don’t blow up cd-roms. They place limitations on installs of games. But Ubisoft’s actually is reasonable. They say three times but it doesn’t mean what it says. Every 30 days you get an activation back. So unless you are planning on installing the game on 3 machines in 30 days you will never run out of activations.

        Reply

  25. Jedi Consular Kromas

    November 7, 2014 at 09:42

    I just worked it out guys! Ubisoft is a French company so the following applies.

    Reply

  26. FSR

    November 7, 2014 at 09:58

    Ugh, Uplay is the worst of all the game clients. Takes forever to update, downloads seem slower. Hopefully by shifting away from steam (even though launching an Ubi game from Steam simply starts up Uplay) they’ll spend a little more time and money on U(don’t)play and it gets to where Origin is. I honestly don’t mind Origin, I’m just not a fan of having multiple game launchers.

    Reply

  27. Rags

    November 7, 2014 at 10:28

    Ugh, Origin is fine now. Uplay *puke*.
    Anyone remember the GTAIV DRM on PC? That Rockstar social club nonsense? Could never get it to work.

    Reply

    • Captain JJ the pout

      November 7, 2014 at 10:46

      It’s still there. I installed GTA IV a few months ago. Hate that sh!t

      Reply

      • Alien Emperor Trevor

        November 7, 2014 at 11:04

        It’s in everything. When I started up LA Noire again a few months back I’d forgotten about that. Started the game, buggered off to make a cup of tea, came back & I thought the game had frozen because it was stuck at the title screen & no buttons worked… until I eventually pressed Home & it asked me to log into that stupid social club nonsense to continue.

        Reply

        • Captain JJ the pout

          November 7, 2014 at 11:16

          If that crap is going to be on GTA V they can forget about me buying it.

          Reply

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            November 7, 2014 at 11:56

            I’m sure it is – you’ll need it for online as well I’m guessing.

            I’ve been feeling disillusioned lately with the whole AAA game scene after seeing recent developments when it comes to PC support. Seems like a big FU to PC gaming from major publishers across the board. And they can do what they want after all, it’s their business. If their priority now is all about the B-AAA-ysplosion games on console, fine – but then don’t release those games on PC at all if they’re going to do a half job. I enjoy those types of games, but over the last few years I’ve had just as many good experiences with smaller titles.

            Publishers like Ubi & EA seem to be under the impression that I’m somehow beholden to them because they’ve made something I enjoyed in the past & that means they can dictate to me now. No. I don’t need them. I think DA:I looks really cool, but I’m not getting it because I think EA are a bunch of assholes. Does it suck for me that I won’t be playing the latest game that everyone is excited about? Sure, a bit. But I’m voting with my wallet, which amusingly enough is what everyone likes to say when someone complains about a publisher, but then thinks you’re mad when you actually do it. Apparently if I’m playing something else while everyone else is playing DA:I I’m supposed to feel bad? That doesn’t happen.

            I don’t need to buy another game. I want to & I will because there’s always something new & cool, but with the amount of games I already have I don’t need to & I definitely don’t need to put up with publishers trying to find new ways to screw me. I thought for a while a gigantic games backlog was a bad thing, when actually it’s set me free.

          • Captain JJ the pout

            November 7, 2014 at 12:15

            You just gave me a moment of complete peace there, reading this. I absolutely agree.
            Indie games have also significantly shaped the way I look at buying and enjoying games. They’re not pushy because they can’t afford to be. It’s just about the game. Not the fancy special editions (as nice as they are) or pretty videos and teasers. They’re not about looking the best or requiring the heaviest hardware.
            They’re just about this game and creating an experience that people will love for what it is.

            I might feel at some stage that DA:I could be fun, but to me it will be no different to console games that we don’t get on pc. They intrigue me, but I won’t be getting them. Simple. And I’m fine with that.

  28. z1n

    November 7, 2014 at 11:00

    No thanks EA, no thanks Ubisoft. I will pirate your games from now on. It’s a shame since I bought and enjoyed Farcry 3 and Blood Dragon. I will not deal with your shit. I’d rather buy through Steam even if it’s a little more expensive.

    Reply

  29. string_slinger

    November 7, 2014 at 12:24

    What Steam does better than anyone is communities and multiplayer. Uplay has some big issues around multiplayer – Farcry 3 multiplayer would have been so much fun, but I could never get into it more with mates due to continuous DC and ‘unable to connect’ errors. Considering how much they’re promoting the co-op sides of FC4 and AC Unity, they’re about to slit their wrists.

    It’s also a rubbish business decison – Steam’s margin is tiny compared to international production, distributon, shipping and retail margins. Ubisoft makes more money off a game on sale on Steam than they do a full priced game at BT Games or Gamestop. Your own platform? Sure. Make your own platform the ONLY platform? Really, REALLY short-sighted. Citing EA as an example doesn’t change the fact EA would make more money with their games on Origin AND Steam. Likewise Ubisoft – it’s a really bad business decision.

    Reply

    • ferreira0665

      November 12, 2014 at 23:30

      Or Not. Check steam for Ubisoft games. I find it really odd lazygamer says Ubisoft pulled all their games when there is still 419 games of Ubisoft on Steam. Either Lazygamer doesn’t like Ubisoft, or Steam, or are just full of shit. Because they said the games were pulled but none of them are including AC Unity.

      Reply

  30. Galbedir

    November 7, 2014 at 13:19

    I will NEVER use Uplay, I eventually just downloaded a crack to play my Farcry 3. NEEEEEEVVVEEEEER! If they don’t want to use steam, then don’t. But don’t force me to use their crappy attempt.

    Reply

    • Captain JJ the pout

      November 7, 2014 at 13:43

      Exactly how I feel.

      Reply

  31. ferreira0665

    November 12, 2014 at 23:08

    Umm. This article was posted on the 7th of November. It is now the 12th and AC unity is still on steam. For being lazygamer. They didn’t do their research.

    Reply

    • ferreira0665

      November 12, 2014 at 23:10

      And to lump Ubisoft with EA is an insult to Ubisoft. Don’t do that.

      Reply

      • ferreira0665

        November 12, 2014 at 23:12

        419 titles by Ubisoft currently available to buy on Steam but Ubisoft left Steam? NOT leaving. Left.

        Reply

  32. Rhasha

    December 16, 2014 at 10:16

    If Uplay would be on the same level as steam in terms of functionality, well then maybe, but for the most part Uplay is just shit, I cant add already installed games, It wont track my already archieved progress in other games (for the Assassinscreed initiates collectables for example), they ui is shit, i always have to relog and go manually online if i want to patch sth. oh dont get me started on the “options” there are literally none,
    even battle.net has more configuration options

    Reply

  33. Sniper

    December 30, 2014 at 09:44

    I have already boycotted all Uplay, origin and EA games. I will not buy them anymore. If its bound to more than steam I just don’t buy it, I don’t care, not my loss, I get to keep my money. They are only hurting themselves by treating all their customers as criminals.

    By the way Origin and Uplay still suck, there support is non existent, if you have any platform issues you will have to sort it out yourself. Steam isn’t any better, but at least their service actually works. Only issue you need to watch for steam is if your email account bound to steam is lost, you lose all your games.

    Reply

  34. Jefferson Smith

    February 19, 2015 at 05:49

    “Assassin’s Creed II: Brotherhood” *FACEPALM*
    …Are you talking about Assassin’s Creed II or Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood? Pick one you fool

    Reply

  35. Pissedgamer

    February 25, 2015 at 07:53

    Pft… Steam should be the one abandoning uplay(ubisoft). That pile of garbage has made it impossible to play my ubisoft games that I purchased through steam and I looked it up on google and this was an issue that was presented in 2012 and still kicking in 2015, what a shitty company ubisoft is.. Don’t buy any ubisoft games if you value your money.

    Reply

  36. williamsteven

    April 21, 2015 at 03:12

    Well it goes like this Valve/Steam Server>EA Server>Ubisoft Server,for now in 2015. For Battle.net, I barely use it except when I play StarCraft 2 🙁

    Reply

  37. Jimmy Liu

    May 7, 2015 at 05:51

    Sorry Steam 4life

    Reply

  38. Whosecter

    June 22, 2015 at 13:26

    < ??????.+ spectre+ ********* ….. < Now Go R­e­­a­d M­o­r­e

    40

    Reply

  39. matt

    June 29, 2015 at 10:59

    So EA and Ubisoft are officially Sony/Microsoft bitches…but remember EA wanted exclusivity on WiiU so there playing the bitter game and Ubisoft are just basically putting themselves in a weaker position almost making people who haven’t much knowledge think Sony own them…..haha,the whole point of being 3rd party is independence so basically spread your games over all the main consoles not leave one out because you cant be asses doing what a few man team at Shinen prove can be done and ubi dev teams are huge….

    I think Nintendo should allow Steam on NX along with other services and basically work with 3rd party studio’s not EA or Ubisoft to offer better versions of Ubi/EA’s games basically go toe to toe i want Nintendo to make billions off mobile shift and use that money for tons of exclusive games on WiiU/NX..

    Reply

  40. Christopher Suiters

    July 18, 2015 at 14:19

    This article is stupid. Uplay will never be good, and Ubisoft is doing something really fucking stupid.

    Reply

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