Ubisoft Connect Merges Uplay, Ubisoft Club With Cross-Play Features
Although gamers still set up camps divided along platform lines, there has never before been a bigger push to build bridges between these competing platforms. Cross-platform saves and cross-play have become selling points for many recent games that try to appeal to as many gamers as possible across multiple devices. Ubisoft is riding that wave with Ubisoft Connect, its new one-stop-shop for all its gaming perks and social gaming needs, including playing with others on different platforms, depending on the game, of course.
Ubisoft unsurprisingly focuses on what the new Ubisoft Connect hub combines. Previously, it had a separate Ubisoft Club rewards program and app and, of course, its Uplay desktop game launcher and store. Connect now merges those two in a single place so players won't have to juggle two or more things.
Ubisoft Connect will have the usual rewards system where you earn XP by playing games and finishing in-game challenges. This XP can then be exchanged for Units currency that, in turn, can be used to unlock rewards for some games. There are, of course, also social features as well as tips and video recommendations based on the games you own or play.
What will perhaps be more interesting for some gamers are the cross-platform perks, which include cross-progression or the ability to carry save data across supported platforms. Cross-play also opens wide the doors for multiplayer games that are available on PlayStation, Xbox, and PCs so that players can team up or compete with others, no matter what device they're playing on.
The latter features don't automatically get added to all Ubisoft games, of course, there are is currently a very short list of titles that support it, including Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Immortals Fenyx Rising, Riders Republic, and the upcoming Watch Dogs: Legion. Ubisoft Connect launches on November 10 for PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch while the PlayStation 5 will have to wait until November 15. Connect will also arrive on Google Stadia, NVIDIA GeForce NOW, and Amazon Luna game streaming services later this year.