Ubisoft relaunches Uplay Store in time for Watch Dogs 2

Ubisoft doesn’t want to split all of its revenues with retailers.

The French publisher announced today that it has relaunched the Uplay Store. This makeover gives the site a new design, but it also provides a new home for exclusive collector’s editions of Ubisoft games. For example, you can get a Watch Dogs 2 Collector’s Edition with a miniature robot that you can control with your smartphone. Fans of that open-world cyberadventure series can simultaneously pick up memorabilia and apparel related to the series and other Ubisoft properties from the Uplay Store. Ubisoft will still sell other premium Collector’s bundles through its retail partners, but it is just offering up some exclusives on its own platform.

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For Ubisoft, this is an attempt to take further control over how it delivers its products to consumers. The company is already one of the top publishers on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 at physical retailers like GameStop and Walmart. It also performs well on digital storefronts like the Xbox Store, PlayStation Store, and Valve’s PC-gaming portal Steam. But with the Uplay Store, the company can sell its games directly to consumers without Microsoft or Sony taking a cut.

The publisher is also slowly building up a loyal following for its Rainbow Six: Siege team-based shooter. That game has appeared on the The NPD Group’s top-seller list for retail games for the last couple of months (NPD is the market research firm that tracks sales of video games), and Ubisoft is doing a lot to keep that audience engaged in the SWAT-style online shooter. That includes a dedicated esports league for Siege, but it also means in-game purchases and branded apparel. Now, Ubisoft can give those gamers a single hub to buy all of that.

To celebrate the relaunch of the Uplay Store, the company is giving anyone who uses the NEW20 promo code a 20-percent discount on purchases. Check it out, and maybe even buy an Assassin’s Creed hoodie for Halloween.