Assassin's Creed Valhalla is finally coming to Steam in December

Female Eivor
(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Two weeks after the discovery of backend data that pointed to Ubisoft returning to Steam, it is now official: The comeback will begin with Assassin's Creed Valhalla, which will debut on the storefront on December 6.

Outside of its own online store, Ubisoft has been an Epic exclusive publisher on PC since early 2019. That's kept big releases including The Division 2, Far Cry 6, Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Watch Dogs Legion, Rainbow Six Extraction, and of course Valhalla off of Steam, which is by far the most popular digital storefront for PC gamers. As we noted when the likelihood of a Ubisoft return first came to light earlier this month, it was an unusual situation: Epic Games Store exclusives generally tend to be for a year, or less in some cases, yet Ubisoft appeared content to make the arrangement indefinite. That's why this Steam comeback is a pretty big deal.

"We’re constantly evaluating how to bring our games to different audiences wherever they are, while providing a consistent player ecosystem through Ubisoft Connect," Ubisoft said in a statement sent to PC Gamer. "Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Anno 1800 and Roller Champions are among the Ubisoft titles that will be releasing on Steam."

Ubisoft gave no indication as to why it chose now to return to Steam, but one interpretation is that it signals the end of the big publisher pushback against Steam, and more specifically the 30% cut of sales it takes. Ubisoft joins Microsoft, Electronic Arts, and Activision as major publishers who came (or came back) to Steam after dabbling in solo ventures. Valve didn't blink during their absence, and Steam remains the dominant digital distribution platform for PC gaming—the place where you want to be if you're a big publisher looking to sell some games. And with the holiday season upon us, there's no better time for Ubisoft to make bank on an Assassin's Creed game that is now, in case you'd forgotten, a couple years old.

As on the Epic and Ubisoft stores, Assassin's Creed Valhalla on Steam will be available in four editions—standard, deluxe, Ragnarok, and complete—each offering a different mix of bonus stuff, including content packs, the Dawn of Ragnarok expansion, and the season pass. As indicated by the Ubisoft statement, Valhallla will also continue to make use of the Ubisoft Connect client.

Anno 1800 and Roller Champions are not currently listed on Steam, and return dates for them have not been announced.

Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

Read more
Watch DOgs 2
Ubisoft's grudging crawlback to Steam continues with achievements for Watch Dogs 2 added a mere 9 years after release
Desmond sitting in the Animus
13 years on, Ubisoft adds Steam achievements to the one mainline Assassin's Creed game you can't actually buy, but not the updated version you can
Naoe looking at the wrist blade in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Ubisoft backflips, says Assassin's Creed Shadows will support Steam Deck at launch, but I doubt I'll actually want to play it there
Assassin's Creed Shadows key art.
Ubisoft reveals Assassin's Creed Shadows preload and unlock times
assassin's creed shadow naoe
Despite everything, Assassin's Creed Shadows preorders are 'tracking solidly,' Ubisoft says, 'in line with those of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, the second most successful entry of the franchise'
A screenshot from the original Assassin's Creed game
Assassin's Creed: Shadows is just around the corner, so come and see the last 17 years of the series' PC graphics at max 4K settings
Latest in Assassin's Creed
Naoe looking at the wrist blade in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Ubisoft backflips, says Assassin's Creed Shadows will support Steam Deck at launch, but I doubt I'll actually want to play it there
Assassin's Creed Shadows key art.
Ubisoft reveals Assassin's Creed Shadows preload and unlock times
Desmond sitting in the Animus
13 years on, Ubisoft adds Steam achievements to the one mainline Assassin's Creed game you can't actually buy, but not the updated version you can
assassin's creed shadow naoe
Despite everything, Assassin's Creed Shadows preorders are 'tracking solidly,' Ubisoft says, 'in line with those of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, the second most successful entry of the franchise'
Image of Yasuke striking an enemy in Assassin's Creed Shadows
10-series and other old GPUs should be able to run Assassin's Creed Shadows says director, and my RTX 3060 Ti sheds a single hopeful tear
Naoe looking at the wrist blade in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows will let you take your pick from the frame gen and upscaling buffet as 'a mix and match approach is possible'
Latest in News
Gabe Newell in a Valve promotional video, on a yacht.
Go ahead and complain the discounts aren't as steep as they used to be, but Steam just had its biggest year ever for seasonal sales
Valve Steam Deck OLED handheld PC
'The future of hardware at Valve is bright': Valve celebrates the success of Steam Deck and Steam OS
Key art of the videogame Lunacid, showing a pale, long haired knight in purple armor contemplating a purple, flaming sword surrounded by the different phases of the moon.
One of my favorite indie RPGs is getting a follow-up made with FromSoftware's 25-year-old Super Mario Maker for first person dungeon crawlers
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 image - Henry riding a pink and blue striped horse while holding a fish
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 now has Steam Workshop support, and of course one of the first mods lets you adjust the 'jiggle physics'
Still image of Bastion holding a bird, taken from Microsoft's Copilot for Gaming reveal trailer
Microsoft unveils Copilot for Gaming, an AI-powered 'ultimate gaming sidekick' that will let you talk to your console so you don't have to talk to your friends
Erenshor - A player and two simulated MMO party members stand on a plateau in front of a yellow landscape
This RuneScape-looking 'simulated MMORPG' has all the nostalgia without the drama because all the other 'players' are NPCs