Overview
- Ubisoft published a Steam announcement on Thursday, September 10, 2026, saying it is testing a new 'Ubisoft Connect Services' backend starting with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown to let the game launch on Steam without opening the Ubisoft Connect PC launcher.
- The company described the change as an initial, progressively rolled‑out test meant to preserve Ubisoft features such as cross‑progression, cross‑play, challenges, rewards and player safety while streamlining the Steam launch experience.
- The announcement was visible only to owners of The Lost Crown and was circulated on Reddit, and several outlets later reported the original Steam post is hard to access or returns a 404, which has complicated direct verification of the message.
- Key technical and account questions remain unanswered in public reporting, including whether buyers will still need to link a Ubisoft account to Steam, whether the tool will be applied to older titles, and how it will handle any DRM or background services.
- If it works as described players would avoid a second launcher and repeated logins for Steam purchases, a change that responds to long‑running complaints about publisher launchers and could prompt similar moves across the industry.