Ubisoft will pick up Anno 1800 at the release of Steam

Anno 1800 will no longer be available for purchase through Steam from launch, but only through Uplay and the Epic Games Store. Publisher Ubisoft reports this after closing a deal with Epic Games. The game is still available for pre-sale on Steam, preorders will not be cancelled.

According to a blog post from Ubisoft, players who purchased Anno 1800 through the Steam store will be able to play the game through that platform. Updates and DLC will also be available to Steam players at the same time as the other platform versions. Multiplayer is through Uplay whether players purchase the game on the Epic Games Store or Steam. Two consumers who have bought the game on different platforms can therefore simply play the game against each other. According to Ubisoft, there are no plans to remove previous Anno games from Steam.

Ubisoft does not make explicit in the blog post why Anno 1800 is being pulled from the Steam store in favor of the Epic Games Store. The publisher does write that the measure follows “the successful release of the PC version of The Division 2 on the Ubisoft Store and the Epic Games Store”. In addition, the publisher indicates that the game will remain available as a pre-order on Steam. Only after the release on April 16, the game will no longer be for sale on that platform.

It is not the first time that a game has been picked from the Steam store and placed on the Epic Games Store. For example, the developers behind Phoenix Point and The Outer Worlds previously concluded agreements with Epic Games. Those two games will be available on Steam after a year. It is unclear whether this will also apply to Anno 1800.

Anno 1800 is a city builder and will be available for Windows from April 16. Ubisoft is also announcing that there will be an open beta from April 12-14. It can only be played via Uplay and the Epic Games Store.