Ubisoft’s upcoming The Division 2 will launch on the Epic Games Store, skipping Steam, Ubisoft and Epic Games announced Wednesday.
The online action-RPG sequel will launch for PC on both the Epic Games Store and Ubisoft’s UPlay service on March 15th, 2019. The game is currently available for pre-order on both services, and Ubisoft and Epic said that they plan to integrate key components from each service ahead of the launch to allow for stronger online functionality. Prior to the announcement, Steam featured a product page for The Division 2, but it has since been removed. Ubisoft has also confirmed to multiple news outlets that The Division 2 will not launch on Steam.
Furthermore, Ubisoft said it will also partner with Epic to release additional games on the Epic Games Store, which will be announced later this year.
“We entrust Epic to deliver a smooth journey for our fans, from preordering the game and enjoying our Beta to the launch of Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 on March 15,” Ubisoft’s Chris Early, vice president of partnerships, said in a press release. “Epic continues to disrupt the videogame industry, and their third party digital distribution model is the latest example, and something Ubisoft wants to support.”
The Division 2 is the latest game to leave Steam in favor of the Epic Games Store. Since it launched in early December, Epic has courted a number of high profile exclusives to its curated storefront, such as Hades by Supergiant Games. The Epic Games Store features an 88/12 percent revenue split with developers, where the developer pockets 88 percent of a games revenue and Epic takes the remaining 12 percent. Steam’s revenue split currently starts with a 30 percent share going to Valve, though the more money a game makes, the higher the percentage goes towards the developer.
“As long-time fans and partners of Ubisoft, we’re thrilled to bring a range of awesome Ubisoft games to the Epic Games store,” Epic’s Tim Sweeney, founder and CEO, said in a press release. “We aim to provide the most publisher-friendly store, providing direct access to customers and an 88% revenue split, enabling game creators to further reinvest in building great games.”
The Division 2 is set seven months after the previous game, and moves the action from New York City to Washington D.C. as players fight to take back the capitol in the aftermath of a devastating plague.
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