Competition for PC game distribution clients is hotting up, after having long been dominated by Valve’s Steam. In particular, the launch of Epic Games’ own store late last year has put the pressure on, and now Ubisoft has dealt a major blow to Steam by opting to release its biggest game of the year on the Epic Games Store.
What’s more, Ubisoft has announced that it will also be releasing “additional select titles” on the platform throughout the year.
It’s a massive scoop for the Epic Games Store, which has attracted plenty of smaller indie developers but hasn’t managed to land many of the big publishers that would entice gamers across from Steam. The Divison 2 is certainly is a big name, with its predecessor title earning Ubisoft $330 million in just five days back in 2015.
Those figures might well be a key factor in Ubisoft’s decision to go with Epic Games, considering that the publisher’s new store offers a much more attractive revenue split than Steam –12% of sales, as opposed to Valve’s 30%.
Chris Early, vice president of partnerships at Ubisoft said of the new partnership:
“We entrust Epic to deliver a smooth journey for our fans, from pre-ordering the game and enjoying our Beta to the launch… Epic continues to disrupt the video game industry, and their third-party digital distribution model is the latest example, and something Ubisoft wants to support.”
Elsewhere today, Ubisoft today unveiled the full specification and features overview for the PC version of The Division 2, which you can check out below:
The Division 2 launches on March 15 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. For more information on the game, check out our full Q&A interview from E3 2018 with Julian Gerighty, the Creative Director of The Division 2.
