It seems that 2020 is the year of platform rebrands. Following in the footsteps of EA’s rebranding of Origin, Assassin’s Creed publisher Ubisoft has announced that Uplay and the reward program Ubisoft Club are being dissolved into an entirely new tool: Ubisoft Connect.
The French developer-publisher bills Ubisoft Connect as a “refreshed and expanded” take on its soon-to-be-shuttered Uplay and Club. This time around the service has multi-platform support at its core, allowing players to keep up with in-game activities, a loyalty program, and other Ubisoft offerings on their next- and current-gen consoles, PC, or cloud-based platform of choice.
"Next-generation gaming goes beyond technological improvements and better graphics. To us, as a creator and publisher, it is about bringing more fluidity and versatility in the experience to have the freedom to play games on whatever device and with whoever you want," reads a statement from Ubisoft online services VP Stephanie Perotti.
"Ubisoft Connect is our take on a new seamless experience to not only ease the transition between generations and platforms, but also be the starting point for new services that further contribute to new, more player-centric ways of enjoying games."
Currently, the service is due to launch on October 29 as Ubisoft’s new community hub, ending Uplay’s eight-year reign as Ubisoft’s go-to game store and player ecosystem. The Uplay name looks to still live on however. Uplay+, the first-party subscription game library launched last fall, looks to keeping the Uplay moniker, at least for now, and is one of the features supported through the new Ubisoft Connect client on PC.