Ubisoft is currently engaged in what we Brits would call a reverse-ferret: After years of releasing its games exclusively on the Epic Store, the publisher has returned to distributing them on Steam. The first game to mark a return to day one releases will be Assassin's Creed Shadows on March 20, even if Ubisoft is still trying to make you sync-up your Steam account to a Ubisoft Connect one. It just can't quite let go!
This is all because Ubisoft has realised it can't afford to ignore Steam, but would really much rather prefer you bought games directly on its own platform. Such grudging reticence may lie behind another oddity of the publisher's gradual return: Ubisoft is slowly going through its back catalogue and adding Steam achievements, in most cases several years after release.
The latest is Watch Dogs 2, and yes I'll wear Adrian's iconic grey cap before calling it Watch_Dogs 2. Fully nine years after release Ubisoft has just added achievements, so now you too can get a pop-up for *checks notes* petting 10 dogs, buying a pair of pants, or taking a picture of someone vomiting. Really.
There is one nice touch: If you've already fulfilled the requirements for any of the achievements then launching the game should unlock them automatically.
It's hard to imagine who might get excited about the prospect of a return to Watch Dogs 2, which has got to be one of the blandest Ubi-fied open world games I've played (well, spent a couple of hours in), but there are those who think I'm the maniac and this is the best in the series. It's better than the original, for sure, but that's not saying much.
Ubisoft is gradually going through its back catalogue, and has added Steam achievements to the likes of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla and, after 11 years, Assassin's Creed: Black Flag. It does all feel like a bit of a half-measure while we're still having to sync up with Ubisoft Connect, though, and I wish the publisher would just let those of us who prefer Steam use Steam without the extra launcher-on-launcher action. As it is, and I'm not even someone who cares about achievements, it feels like Ubisoft has been hiving off little features that should really come as standard (and do in most games) and forcing you into using a launcher no-one wants for the complete package. Ubisoft's return to Steam generally and the commitment to updating its older titles should be welcomed, but I suspect Ubisoft Connect will linger around for some time to come regardless.
