Earlier this year Ubisoft revealed that its eagerly-awaited title The Division 2 would not launch on PC via Steam, but instead would be exclusive to the Epic Games Store and Ubisoft’s own Uplay digital client. As we approached The Division 2‘s release date, it was also revealed that even third-party sellers would have to stop selling the game when it released. These stores would honor pre-orders, but that was it. Now the latest partnership between Ubisoft and Epic has been announced for strategy title Anno 1800, in the form of a similar Anno 1800 Epic Games Store exclusivity deal.
The publisher made the announcement on the Anno Union official news site for the series. This time it is being more upfront about the third-party sellers issue, confirming that once Anno 1800 releases on April 16, Anno 1800 will only be available to buy digitally on the Uplay and the Epic Games Store. Like The Division 2, pre-orders on other stores will be accepted until the game comes out.
Unlike The Division 2 however, Anno 1800 is following in the footsteps of Metro Exodus, in that there will actually be a Steam release, but only for anyone who pre-purchases the game directly on Steam. Like other stores, Steam pre-orders will be stopped on April 16, but here it will remain in your Steam library and you can play it from there. Steam players will be able to interact and play with anyone who owns Anno 1800 on Epic Games Store or Uplay. Steam customers will receive all updates too, probably because in all of these cases the game itself is actually on Uplay, not Epic or Steam. The Anno 1800 Open Beta, however, will only appear for customers pre-ordering on Uplay and Epic Games Store, not Steam.
With this being the second Ubisoft game in as many months to go exclusive to the Epic Games Store on PC, and Ubisoft dubbing The Division 2 as “a successful launch,” it’s entirely possible that more Ubisoft games will go exclusive to Epic’s client later this year. Beyond Good and Evil 2 fans should pre-order on Steam as soon as it becomes available, if they want it for sure on Valve’s platform.
