Ubisoft Connect Will Have Cross-Progression, Cross-Saves On All Platforms

Ubisoft is preparing for the next generation with a rebrand of both its in-game loyalty program and its desktop app, shifting both to the name Ubisoft Connect. The publisher has a long-running suite of online services for its games, offering rewards to players across its published titles since the days of the Xbox 360. It also offers UPlay+, a publisher subscription service that will soon expand to the cloud in a partnership with Amazon Luna. The subscription service may be part of the rebranding, as both halves of the new service once bore the same “UPlay” name.

Not only is Ubisoft shifting its online services over on the eve of the next generation of console hardware, but it’s also taking advantage of a lineup of big launches coming in the next few months. Ubisoft is releasing Watch Dogs: Legion at the end of the month, followed closely by Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Just Dance 2021 in November. The calendar also includes rapid-fire releases of Far Cry 6, Riders Republic, and Immortals Fenyx Rising in the months after that. When all that is factored in alongside Ubisoft’s many ongoing live service games, there will be plenty of opportunities for players to try out the new Ubisoft Connect interface.

Ubisoft describes the new Connect service as a way for players to bridge their gaming experience across any platform that holds the publisher’s games. Players will see their Ubisoft friends list across all Ubisoft games, even if they’re playing on a different platform. Ubisoft is stretching that cross-platform magic to save games as well, promising to let players switch from console to PC to the cloud in their newest titles. Ubisoft Connect will also continue the in-game loyalty program that lets players cash in Units earned from in-game achievements on cosmetic rewards and game boosters. All of this will come to current Ubisoft games alongside the release of Watch Dogs: Legion on October 29.

As part of the Ubisoft Connect rollout, many of the publisher’s older titles just received a pile of free DLC. Since Ubisoft isn’t porting its entire catalog over to the new system, it’s made over a thousand items that previously cost Units to unlock free. Starting today, players who log into titles like Far Cry 5, Assassin’s Creed Origins, the South Park games and more will see the unlockables instantly spawn into their save file. In some cases, this includes rewards only available for a limited time or by attending a convention in the past, so it’s a boon to those who prefer keeping a backlog and visiting games years after launch.

With the new Ubisoft Connect, the publisher is ahead of the curve in terms of what the next generation will bring to games. Console platforms like Xbox and PlayStation will persevere, but more people in the industry are latching onto the fact that gamers are in it for the games, and they want those games to work across devices. By building its own version of Xbox Live, Ubisoft can standardize its customers’ experiences across all existing devices and any future services that pop up in the years to come. If it all works, players will likely see many other publishers go down the same road.

Source: Ubisoft

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