Ubisoft appears to be testing a different way to provide its account-linked features through Steam without requiring players to install or open the standalone Ubisoft Connect launcher. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is the first game connected to the new backend application, which is called Ubisoft Connect Services.
The implementation supports cross-progression, challenges, and rewards through Steam while removing the requirement for another third-party application. The latest update for The Lost Crown appears to eliminate the previous need to open Ubisoft Connect when launching the game through Valve’s storefront, although some account-linking requirements seemingly remain.
Prince of Persia begins the Ubisoft Connect Services test
An announcement published on Steam identifies Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown as the first game using Ubisoft Connect Services. Instead of routing those players through the separate Ubisoft Connect application, the backend service is intended to retain the Ubisoft ecosystem features attached to the game while allowing the Steam version to operate without that additional launcher.
The supported functions named in the announcement are cross-progression, challenges, and rewards. Ubisoft has therefore not described the change as the removal of its online services or account ecosystem. It is changing how those services are delivered to Steam users, with the new backend application handling features that were previously tied to the standalone software.
The standalone launcher may no longer need to stay installed
Players will seemingly still need to use Ubisoft Connect when linking a Ubisoft account to Steam. Once that connection has been made, however, games supporting Ubisoft Connect Services would not require the standalone launcher to remain installed. That distinction means the account layer may persist even as the separate desktop application is removed from the regular launch process.
The latest update to Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown appears to make that model possible for the first time. The game had previously required Steam players to open Ubisoft Connect and sign in to Ubisoft’s ecosystem. Following its connection to the Ubisoft Connect Services backend, the additional launcher no longer appears to be part of the game’s normal Steam startup process.
Ubisoft plans to improve the Steam integration
The rollout message calls the implementation “an initial step toward a smoother and more streamlined launch experience on Steam.” Ubisoft also says it will continue iterating on Ubisoft Connect Services, with the stated goal of preserving the features and services players expect while making the Steam experience more seamless.
That wording presents the current implementation as a developing service rather than a finished replacement deployed throughout Ubisoft’s catalogue. The Lost Crown is the initial test case, and the announcement does not provide a schedule or identify other games that could receive the same integration.
A wider Ubisoft rollout remains unconfirmed
PCGamesN reports that Ubisoft Connect Services could be extended across the publisher’s wider catalogue if the first implementation succeeds. That wider rollout is UNCONFIRMED: Ubisoft has not provided a supported-games list, named the next title in line, or announced a timetable for expanding the service.
For the moment, the concrete change is limited to the Ubisoft Connect Services implementation associated with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. Its significance lies in the technical model being tested: Ubisoft can retain cross-progression, challenges, and rewards while potentially removing the need for Steam players to keep a second game launcher installed. Whether that model becomes standard across more Ubisoft games will depend on decisions the publisher has not yet detailed.
