UPDATED: Ubisoft has apparently reversed its policy, at least in the US. The company hasn't issued a formal statement, but the games in question are now back on Steam.
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Less than a week before the launch of Assassin's Creed: Unity, Ubisoft has quietly started removing its upcoming games from Steam. The move was first noticed in the UK, but the US storefront shows the games have disappeared, as well.
Assassin's Creed: Unity, The Crew, and Far Cry 4 are no longer featured on Steam, despite being on the service not long ago.
"We’ve been in discussions with Valve about Assassin’s Creed Unity but for the time being the game is not available via Steam in the UK,” Ubisoft said in a statement to PCGamesN. "In the meantime, UK customers wishing to purchase the game digitally can do so by visiting the Uplay store, our retail partners or other digital distributors.”
Ah, Uplay. It's likely Ubisoft's making the same move as Electronic Arts, and pushing its highly anticipated new games onto its proprietary platform. Old Ubisoft and EA games are still on Steam, but new ones are not. Want Dragon Age: Inquisition? Download Origin. Want Assassin's Creed: Unity? Download uPlay.
Unfortunately, it's hard to see how this benefits the consumer in any way.
Ubisoft has not responded to my request for comment.