Gaming
Ubisoft Just Retired 16 Years of Launcher Layering on Steam, and Deck Players Win Biggest
Ubisoft just ended one of PC gaming's longest running annoyances. It starts with Prince of Persia, The Lost Crown. Players buying Ubisoft games on Steam are done installing or launching the separate Ubisoft Connect desktop client. A new background tool called Ubisoft Connect Services handles account sign in, cross play, cross progression, rewards, and player safety features with the second window removed from the experience entirely. After roughly 16 years of layering a proprietary launcher on top of Steam, Ubisoft is admitting the players were right all along.
The technical change is small and the symbolic weight is large. Connect has a history of crashing on launch days, locking players out of games they already paid for, and collecting negative reviews aimed at the wrapper, sparing the game itself. Years of review bombs aimed at the launcher told the story for years. Players punished the launcher and praised the games. The wrapper was the product players resented. The new services layer keeps every online feature the full client provided, running silently in the background instead. Players still need a Ubisoft account, so this is consolidation, folding two layers into one. The separate app hijacking the taskbar is gone from the deal.
Steam Deck owners feel this most. Secondary launchers always sat awkwardly against the handheld's console style interface, and the community response from Deck players has been the warmest of all. For a handheld built around pick up and play simplicity, a mandatory second login was always the odd piece out. Ubisoft says Connect Services will roll out progressively to more Steam titles, though it has named neither franchises nor dates, and the Epic Games Store question stays open. The Lost Crown, a 2024 release from Ubisoft Montpellier, makes a sensible test bed, a finished, well liked game where the only variable is the launch experience.
Readers with big Ubisoft backlogs should watch the rollout list, because every title that drops the launcher requirement becomes a meaningfully better Steam citizen overnight. The broader signal matters too. Publishers are learning that friction at launch costs more goodwill than any account ecosystem gains. When the next Assassin's Creed or Far Cry shows up with Connect Services baked in, you will click Play and simply play, which is all anyone ever asked for. The Lost Crown earned strong reviews when it launched in 2024, and a frictionless Steam debut gives it a second life with the exact audience that skipped the launcher era. Sixteen years of double launchers taught the industry a durable lesson, and Ubisoft just proved it learned it.
Quick answers
What is this story about?
Ubisoft just ended one of PC gaming's longest running annoyances. It starts with Prince of Persia, The Lost Crown. Players buying Ubisoft games on Steam are done installing or launching the separate Ubisoft Connect desktop client. A new background tool called Ubisoft Connect Services handles account sign in, cross play, cross progression, rewards, and player safety features with the second window removed from the experience entirely. After roughly 16 years of layering a proprietary launcher on top of Steam, Ubisoft is admitting the players were right all along.
Why does this story matter?
Readers with big Ubisoft backlogs should watch the rollout list, because every title that drops the launcher requirement becomes a meaningfully better Steam citizen overnight. The broader signal matters too. Publishers are learning that friction at launch costs more goodwill than any account ecosystem gains. When the next Assassin's Creed or Far Cry shows up with Connect Services baked in, you will click Play and simply play, which is all anyone ever asked for. The Lost Crown earned strong reviews when it launched in 2024, and a frictionless Steam debut gives it a second life with the exact audience that skipped the launcher era. Sixteen years of double launchers taught the industry a durable lesson, and Ubisoft just proved it learned it.
Sources
- Gadgets360 on Ubisoft dropping the Connect launcher requirement
- NotebookCheck on Ubisoft Connect Services for Steam
- The Escapist on Ubisoft Connect Services testing
New to crypto? Read the crypto glossary, browse frequent questions, read our story, or explore the story archive.