Ubisoft: 'We want to improve our relationship with PC gamers'

Publisher Ubisoft hopes to become a major player in the PC space with a broader digital store.The firm has been selling PC games via its Uplay service for some time, but has now opened that up to third parties, with EA, Warner Bros, Telltale and Bohemia amongst the companies on board. Wider selection and overhauled policies can widen the store’s audience, it is hoped.

Ubisoft was criticised by PC gamers for controversial ‘always-online’ anti-piracy protection. But the firm has now stopped the practice and Ubisoft’s worldwide Uplay director Stephanie Perotti says it’s listening very closely to feedback reports mcvuk:

“Announcing all these partners for Uplay and a wider choice of PC games, it shows our commitment to PC, and we want to improve out relationship with the PC community,” she told MCV.

“We are always seeking to improve. We took a lot of that feedback on board. With every game on PC we are improving. Far Cry 3 and Assassin’s Creed III on PC were very high quality.”

The third party games were made available on Uplay earlier this week, and the company is now looking to sell digital cards via retailers, just like Steam, Xbox Live, PSN, Facerbook, MMOs and Nintendo eShop already do.

“We already offer cards with some of our free-to-play games,” added Perotti. “We are now developing something for Uplay.”

There are currently 30 titles available on the Uplay digital store from third parties, and more will be announced over the ‘coming weeks and months’.

Perotti says the firm is ‘open to all opportunities’ when it comes to launching the Uplay store on other devices, including mobile.

But with a vast quantity of digital retailers, including Steam and EA’s Origin, already on the market, does the industry really need a new PC download store?

“I don’t think you can have too much choice,”?said Perotti. “It is just another way to expose more content.

“At Uplay we are also offering all Ubisoft titles, more console content and elements that gamers are more interested in. It’s about offering more options and more choice.”