Ubisoft has started removing its mandatory launcher requirement from its games on Steam, with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown the first title to drop the Ubisoft Connect PC launcher altogether.
The change comes through a new Ubisoft Connect Steam Services tool, announced on the game’s Steam page on September 13, 2026. The tool keeps the parts of Ubisoft Connect players actually want, including cross-progression, cross-play, challenges, rewards and player safety features, without requiring the full launcher to be installed or opened alongside the game. Ubisoft described the current version as “a smoother and more streamlined” launch process for its Steam titles.
Steam Deck players are the biggest winners
For Steam Deck owners, the change is less a convenience and more the end of a long-standing headache. Secondary launchers have been a poor fit on SteamOS for years, sitting awkwardly with the handheld’s console-style interface, and the community response to the Lost Crown change has been positive so far, with plenty of that goodwill coming from Steam Deck users who have dealt with the problem the longest.
The Lost Crown is a Windows game on Steam, developed by Ubisoft Montpellier and published by Ubisoft. It arrived on the storefront on August 8, 2024, after its original launch on January 18, 2024. Ubisoft has confirmed the Steam Services tool will progressively expand to more of its games on Steam, though it has not named which titles are next, and has not said whether the whole compatible back catalog will eventually get the same treatment.
Not a company-wide change yet
For now, this is a test on a single game rather than a wholesale retirement of Ubisoft Connect, which has existed in its current form since Uplay and Ubisoft Club were folded into it in 2020. Ubisoft says it will keep improving the tool over time.
Darcy Mullane covers the Australian side of the games industry for WellPlayed: local release dates and pricing, classification decisions, and the studios and events based here.
