Finally, another publisher has realised extra launchers on Steam are a pain in the ass, surprisingly this time it's Ubisoft doing something good. They've announced "Ubisoft Connect Services", a new way their games will sync up with their own cloud stuff on Steam.
So in future their games will hook into the smaller Ubisoft Connect Services, instead of making you jump through Ubisoft Connect which has been quite a nuisance - especially for Linux / SteamOS gamers across Desktop, Steam Deck and Steam Machine. With it often breaking through updates and just being a general pain point.
Announced in a post for Prince of Persia The Lost Crown on Steam, this is the first title to use it:
"Starting with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, we are testing a new Ubisoft Connect Services Steam tool that keeps Ubisoft game features such as cross-progression, cross-play, player safety, challenges and rewards, among others, without requiring the Ubisoft Connect PC launcher to be installed or launched.
This first version is an initial step toward a smoother and more streamlined launch experience on Steam. We will continue to iterate and improve Ubisoft Connect Services over time, with the goal of delivering the features and services players use and expect while making the Steam experience as seamless as possible.
Ubisoft Connect Services will progressively evolve and roll out to more Ubisoft games on Steam in the future."
You may have seen reports on this earlier from elsewhere - but Ubisoft seemed to publish it too early and then quickly remove it, the actual public post is now live. We decided to wait for proper confirmation on it.
🌐 External Sources: store.steampowered.com
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
About the author - Liam Squires-Hand
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly checked on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly.
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Kimyrielle 10 Sep 2026
I don't buy Ubisoft games, but this is still good news. Only a deleted launcher is a good launcher.
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They basically replaced the Launcher app that was bundled with the game with dependency that runs as background app and is installed separately. Basically same effect, just less intrusive and can be updated separately from the game (Rockstar Games should do the same). They first posted the news to the background app page, which most people don't see and now published the news on the game page too.
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The launcher was a problem in itself. But the DRM that came with it is a bigger problem, so that stays active in something else, it's not all that useful to me.
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Mohandevir 10 Sep 2026
"Starting with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown"
Oh gosh! That's why the game stopped working with "Unable to find Ubisoft Connect installation" 2 nights ago... I tried changing proton version, erase proton files, check files integrity and reinstalled the game... To no avail. Then, yesterday, when I tried starting the game, Ubisoft connect reinstalled itself... Hurray! Then I realized I had lost my 22h save game. Ubisoft cloud sync... Yeah right! 😤
Last edited by Mohandevir on 10 Sep 2026 at 6:51 pm UTC
Oh gosh! That's why the game stopped working with "Unable to find Ubisoft Connect installation" 2 nights ago... I tried changing proton version, erase proton files, check files integrity and reinstalled the game... To no avail. Then, yesterday, when I tried starting the game, Ubisoft connect reinstalled itself... Hurray! Then I realized I had lost my 22h save game. Ubisoft cloud sync... Yeah right! 😤
Last edited by Mohandevir on 10 Sep 2026 at 6:51 pm UTC
8 Likes 👍 (7)😢 (1) See more...
Does that change anything though if you want to buy their games outside of steam ?
This monopoly isn't something good.
This monopoly isn't something good.
0 Likes
Mountain Man 10 Sep 2026
I've been wanting to buy the Avatar game (based on the James Cameron film series) for a while, and it has had some temptingly deep discounts during sale seasons, but having to fuss around with the Ubisoft launcher has always been the deal breaker. If Ubisoft removes it as a requirement then I'll be more inclined to buy.
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seflasporin 10 Sep 2026
Hmm, I wonder how that's going to work with their older games that currently require you to enter a password every time you launch them.
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So a Ubisoft account is still required, right? I'm trying to stay away from that.
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Can I sync the progress I made on stadia with the steam version of the game(s)? If not, I'm still not re-buying them.
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pleasereadthemanual 11 Sep 2026
Launchers break games even on Windows. I couldn't get Burnout Paradise to work on Windows because of the EA launcher, but it worked on Linux through Proton.
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Quoting: Mohandevir"Starting with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown"This is why you should back up any local saves before you reinstall because this happened to me in another game, where I lost all my progress after reinstallation. Cloud saves can works but never dealt with Ubisoft's version of it.
Oh gosh! That's why the game stopped working with "Unable to find Ubisoft Connect installation" 2 nights ago... I tried changing proton version, erase proton files, check files integrity and reinstalled the game... To no avail. Then, yesterday, when I tried starting the game, Ubisoft connect reinstalled itself... Hurray! Then I realized I had lost my 22h save game. Ubisoft cloud sync... Yeah right! 😤
1 Likes 👍 (1) See more...
Everyone's capable of a redemption arc. It's about time they move towards this direction...
0 Likes
Why is everyone so negative towards Ubisoft?
There are a few nice games and if it's not your genre, how about just keeping quiet?
There are a few nice games and if it's not your genre, how about just keeping quiet?
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Quoting: tpauWhy is everyone so negative towards Ubisoft?Because the company has been doing a lot of bad shit? Like the stupid Uplay launcher nonsense. Or the sexual harassment. Or their weird comments about Steam and how they partnered up with Epic, only to tuck their tail afterwards...
There are a few nice games and if it's not your genre, how about just keeping quiet?
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Quoting: tpauWhy is everyone so negative towards Ubisoft?Problem are not Ubisoft's games, it's Ubisoft itself. In my case, I do like Splinter Cell, but for example look at the reviews on Steam for Splinter Cell: Conviction. People don't complain about the game, but about the fact, that Ubisoft bricked it and lot of people can't even launch it anymore because of Ubisoft Connect. They like it, they paid for it, they want to play it, but they cannot, because of this crappy company doing crappy things.
There are a few nice games and if it's not your genre, how about just keeping quiet?
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It is my understanding that it still requires the UbiSoft account login, so slightly better but still not good. Anyway I won't buy their games until they remove Denuvo. And they never do, even for ancient dirt cheap indie games like Scott Pilgrim vs The World...
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Zakaria_Shalih 11 Sep 2026
I stick with GOG for acquiring Ubisoft games outside pirating them
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Mohandevir 11 Sep 2026
Quoting: ToddLAnyway, it doesn't matter anymore; the game just crashes me out everytime I try to enter Qaf, right after the prologue. 100% of the tries. It's just unplayable, now.Quoting: Mohandevir"Starting with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown"This is why you should back up any local saves before you reinstall because this happened to me in another game, where I lost all my progress after reinstallation. Cloud saves can works but never dealt with Ubisoft's version of it.
Oh gosh! That's why the game stopped working with "Unable to find Ubisoft Connect installation" 2 nights ago... I tried changing proton version, erase proton files, check files integrity and reinstalled the game... To no avail. Then, yesterday, when I tried starting the game, Ubisoft connect reinstalled itself... Hurray! Then I realized I had lost my 22h save game. Ubisoft cloud sync... Yeah right! 😤
0 Likes
dmacofalltrades 11 Sep 2026
Now they just need to get rid of Denuvo in their older games.
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Quoting: MohandevirSorry to hear that it still crashes. Hope they fix it but then again, this is Ubisoft we're talking about here 😆Quoting: ToddLAnyway, it doesn't matter anymore; the game just crashes me out everytime I try to enter Qaf, right after the prologue. 100% of the tries. It's just unplayable, now.Quoting: Mohandevir"Starting with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown"This is why you should back up any local saves before you reinstall because this happened to me in another game, where I lost all my progress after reinstallation. Cloud saves can works but never dealt with Ubisoft's version of it.
Oh gosh! That's why the game stopped working with "Unable to find Ubisoft Connect installation" 2 nights ago... I tried changing proton version, erase proton files, check files integrity and reinstalled the game... To no avail. Then, yesterday, when I tried starting the game, Ubisoft connect reinstalled itself... Hurray! Then I realized I had lost my 22h save game. Ubisoft cloud sync... Yeah right! 😤
Last edited by ToddL on 12 Sep 2026 at 6:10 pm UTC
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