it seems consistant (atleast in the uk) that the on disk version is cheaper by at least £10 compared to steams 39.99 price point. has it been made known that the disk version activates on steam ? im on the fence for this game and making it a little cheaper may push me over.

also does anyone know why it is cheaper ? i would have thought that a disk version would have extra costs associated with production than in digital which is just generating a license

I'm not sure if disc-based products all come with Steam keys. I think that depends on the relationship between Valve and the publishers, and whether or not they choose to make that an option. I know that there's an official list of Steam redeemable games somewhere, but I'm not sure how up-to-the-minute that is.

Also, I just bought the game from Green Man Gaming for 45 U.S. dollars after a 25% off code. I'm not sure how that converts, but maybe that'd be worth doing.

I'm pretty sure the retail version activates on Steam, but I'm not 100% sure, though.

But if it's purely about the price, Greenman Gaming are selling it digitally 25% off with the coupon code KCE1U6-JJ96XO-IR5W7L. And that definitely activates on Steam.

As for why games are generally cheaper at retail - on Steam, Ubisoft set the price. At retail, the retailers set the price. Retailers will undercut Steam and each-other in order to generate sales.

You can buy a steam key from Amazon for £28.

I ended up taking a risk on the retail disk because I got it for £23 from GAME (coupon code 'costumes' plus credit).

I know I bought ACIV on Gamefly Digital and it gave me a UPlay only key.

The game uses Steam achievements, that is normally a good indication that all PC versions will require steam, there have been a few exceptions but they are rare.

Check this list:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_using_Steam_authentication

South Park the stick of truth is listed there at the bottom under "upcoming games", but to make sure, look at the back of the box before buying, if it has the steam symbol, then it activates on steam.

Look at the back of the PC case in the store. Usually games that activate on Steam have something telling buyers that at the bottom. Or just look for a mention of the word Steam.

Yes the retail boxed copy requires Steam activation. Though there's no indication on the back of box, or even any copyright/TM Steam logos inside the manual. But on the front page of the manual, just about the serial key there in fine print that reads; "Steam Activation Code". So yes the PC retail boxed copy requires a Steam.

Also noted boxed copies don't have pre-order bonuses inside.