‘The Division 2’ Coming to Epic Games Store, Pulled From Steam
By Stefanie Fogel
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Updated: Ubisoft’s “The Division” franchise appears to be ditching Steam on PC. The publisher is bringing “Tom Clancy’s The Division 2” to the Epic Games Store, it announced on Wednesday. It will not be sold on Steam, the company confirmed to Variety.
The online action-RPG sequel comes out on Mar. 15 on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The PC version is available to preorder now on the Store and the Store. Although the game had a product info page on Steam — and its predecessor is sold there as well — a Ubisoft representative told Variety it has no plans to release “The Division 2” on Valve’s storefront. So, how did the listing get there? Ubisoft said “coming soon” pages are a collaborative effort. Publishers use Steam’s developer tools to create pages and Valve reviews them and makes them live once the publisher says they are ready. Since “The Division 2” is now semi-exclusive to the , Ubisoft and/or Valve pulled the Steam listing shortly after today’s announcement.
This new partnership doesn’t mean Ubisoft is totally abandoning Steam. A number of upcoming titles will launch on both it and Uplay, including “Far Cry: New Dawn,” the publisher told Variety. All games previously released on Uplay and Steam are also still available on both platforms. But, Ubisoft and Epic said they will partner on additional select titles in the future. They will reveal more details later this year.
The Epic Games Store launched in early December and currently offers a curated selection of PC and Mac titles. It also offers developers a generous 88% cut of revenues. Steam, which is currently the largest digital games storefront, takes about 30% of all revenues, for comparison.
“The Division 2” is one of the first high-profile AAA titles to come to the Epic Games Store. Ubisoft and Epic say they’re now working to integrate key components of Ubisoft’s Uplay ecosystem and Epic’s online services to give players more seamless social features.
“We entrust Epic to deliver a smooth journey for our fans, from pre-ordering the game and enjoying our beta to the launch of ‘Tom Clancy’s The Division 2’ on Mar. 15,” said Ubisoft vice president of partnerships Chris Early. “Epic continues to disrupt the video game industry, and their third-party digital distribution model is the latest example, and something Ubisoft wants to support.”
Set seven months after the events of the previous game, “Tom Clancy’s The Division 2” moves its setting from New York City to Washington D.C. The PC version is being developed by Massive in parallel with its console brethren and it has features that cater specifically to a wide variety of gaming builds, Ubisoft said. It will also offer a “substantial” campaign and a “robust” endgame that will expand via free DLC for all players.
