Ubisoft's new Uplay+ subscription launches for PC this year, Stadia in 2020

Ubisoft is getting into the pay-for-access game library business with Uplay+ later this year, and bringing that service to Google’s cloud-based game streaming platform in 2020.

Announced during Ubisoft’s E3 press conference today, Uplay+ is a $14.99 per month subscription service that offers access to over 100 Ubisoft games on PC. Similar to other services like Xbox Game Pass, Uplay+ will offer its subscribers access to new and upcoming games, including betas and early access releases in some cases.

On top of that, Ubisoft says in a blog post that Uplay+ subscribers have access to the premium editions, DLC, and post-launch content for the games they play through the service.

While Uplay+ launches for PC on September 3, Ubisoft announced that it will also offer support for Stadia in 2020. That makes Ubisoft the first big publisher to sign on and bring a subscription service to Stadia, something that Google’s Phil Harrison only recently revealed was a possibility.

"More players are in the digital ecosystem than ever before, and a digital subscription is one of the easiest ways for players to access content," says a statement from Ubisoft's VP of platform and product management Brenda Panagross.

This year has seen more and more companies beefing up their own subscription services. Xbox Game Pass and its expansion to PC were a key part of Microsoft’s own E3 press conference this week, and EA recently announced plans to expand its own EA Access service to offer a similar pay-for-access library of EA titles to PlayStation 4 players for the first time.

Uplay+’s upcoming Stadia launch also represents a potentially major shift for Google’s streaming service. As announced just ahead of E3, Stadia requires players to, for the most part, purchase its entirely cloud-based games individually as they would on any other digital platform. Allowing companies like Ubisoft to bring their own subscription services onto the platform beefs up Stadia’s appeal and catalog. Publishers, meanwhile are given a way to make their games playable across TVs, smart devices, and computers thanks to Stadia's cloud-based nature, and without significant additional development.