Subscription twist, Ubisoft+ Premium adds Assassin’s Creed Shadows on day one

Ubisoft is pushing its own subscription hard: the Ubisoft+ Premium service will include day-one access to Assassin’s Creed Shadows, bundling the new samurai stealth epic with a rotating catalog of major franchises across PC and consoles.

Edited by ad hoc news Software & Services Desk. Reviewed before publication on 06/16/2026 at 1:24 AM ET. Details in the imprint.

Ubisoft is sharpening its subscription push: the company’s Ubisoft+ Premium service will include day-one access to the upcoming blockbuster Assassin’s Creed Shadows alongside a broad catalog of existing hits for a flat monthly fee. According to Ubisoft, the service currently costs $17.99 per month on PC and $17.99 on consoles via Xbox and Amazon Luna, with month-to-month cancellation and no long-term contracts. The official Ubisoft+ page lists pricing, supported platforms and the growing game library.

What Ubisoft+ Premium actually offers today

Ubisoft+ Premium is Ubisoft’s top-tier subscription, giving access to a rotating library of more than 100 Ubisoft titles, including premium editions with season passes and DLC where available, across PC and supported cloud and console platforms. Subscribers on PC access the catalog through the Ubisoft Connect launcher, while console users can subscribe directly on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One or stream select titles via Amazon’s Luna cloud gaming service. On all platforms, the central promise is the same: day-one access to new Ubisoft releases without a separate $60 to $70 purchase, as long as the subscription remains active.

The upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows, slated for global release on November 15, 2024, is prominently marketed as part of this proposition, arriving in the Ubisoft+ library on launch day in its Premium Edition with additional missions and cosmetic content included. Ubisoft has also committed to bringing other major launches, such as Star Wars Outlaws and future entries in the Far Cry and Tom Clancy franchises, into Ubisoft+ Premium at release, positioning the service as a subscription alternative to traditional single-game purchases for fans deeply invested in the publisher’s catalog.

Beyond day-one access, Ubisoft+ Premium offers early access windows of up to three days before official release for select titles, letting subscribers start new games ahead of standard buyers. Save progress and unlocked content carry over seamlessly between subscription and owned versions on the same account, so players who later decide to buy a game outright can keep their progress. The catalog includes long-running series such as Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Watch Dogs, The Division, Rainbow Six, and Anno, often in their most content-complete versions with expansions bundled in.

Ubisoft is explicit that the service is designed for flexibility rather than long-term lock-in: billing is monthly, and users can cancel at any time, retaining access until the current prepaid period ends. There is no annual plan discount at this stage, which differentiates Ubisoft+ Premium from some rival services that lean heavily on 12-month commitments. For players who only want to dive into a new release such as Assassin’s Creed Shadows for a limited period, this makes a one- or two-month subscription a potentially attractive option versus a full-price purchase, especially when combined with access to older titles in the same window.

On the technical side, Ubisoft+ Premium does not itself provide console or PC cloud streaming infrastructure; instead, it plugs into existing platforms. On PC, games are installed locally via Ubisoft Connect, while on Xbox the subscription unlocks native downloads of included titles through the console interface. For cloud play, Ubisoft has partnered with Amazon Luna, where Ubisoft+ subscribers can link their accounts to stream supported games on compatible devices, subject to regional availability. This approach keeps Ubisoft’s own infrastructure footprint modest while still offering most of the convenience benefits players expect from subscription and cloud ecosystems.

Compared with large multi-publisher services, Ubisoft+ Premium is tightly focused on one catalog, trading breadth across publishers for depth in a single ecosystem. The value proposition is strongest for players who frequently buy Ubisoft games at launch or who want to explore back catalog titles they may have missed, such as older Assassin’s Creed entries, strategy series like Anno and Might & Magic, or cooperative shooters like Rainbow Six Extraction, without individual purchases adding up. Ubisoft also offers a lower-cost Ubisoft+ Classics tier bundled into some external services in selected regions, but access to day-one releases and premium editions remains exclusive to Ubisoft+ Premium.

For Assassin’s Creed Shadows in particular, Ubisoft+ Premium effectively turns what would typically be a $109.99 Premium Edition purchase into a subscription option for players willing to treat access as temporary. According to recent pre-release coverage, the game will be set in late 16th-century Japan with dual protagonists, blending stealth-focused missions with open combat and expanded RPG systems, and Ubisoft expects it to be one of its largest releases of the fiscal year. Industry outlets such as GameSpot have highlighted Ubisoft+ as a central part of the publisher’s launch strategy for Shadows.

Ubisoft is also using Ubisoft+ Premium as a testing ground for cross-progression and cross-platform entitlements. Many games in the subscription support cross-save via Ubisoft Connect, allowing players to start on one PC and continue on another or move between PC and cloud sessions without losing progress. While console-to-PC cross-progression depends on each title’s implementation and platform policies, Ubisoft has stated that it wants to expand unified progression systems, making it easier for subscribers to move their play across devices as long as they remain within the Ubisoft account ecosystem.

From a competitive standpoint, Ubisoft+ Premium exists alongside Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass, Sony’s PlayStation Plus tiers and EA’s EA Play, all experimenting with different mixes of day-one releases, back catalogs and platform exclusivity. Ubisoft’s decision to keep Ubisoft+ Premium multi-platform, at least across PC and Xbox plus Amazon’s cloud offering, avoids tying the service to a single console ecosystem but also means it must justify its price point without the hardware subsidies that platform holders sometimes use. Prospective subscribers will likely compare not just raw title counts but also how frequently Ubisoft delivers major releases like Assassin’s Creed Shadows into the service and how long they remain in the catalog before potential rotation.

Internally, Ubisoft has indicated in financial communications that subscription revenue is becoming a growing, though still smaller, part of its overall business relative to traditional game sales and licensing. Management has pointed to Ubisoft+ as a way to smooth revenue between big releases and to re-monetize back catalog content, while also gathering more granular data on player behavior to inform live-service updates and future titles. In its recent investor presentations, Ubisoft has repeatedly flagged Ubisoft+ and recurring digital spending as strategic growth pillars.

Given the monthly price of Ubisoft+ Premium relative to standard game pricing, the service is most likely to appeal to heavy Ubisoft players who engage with multiple franchise entries per year or who dip into live-service titles such as The Division 2, Rainbow Six Siege and XDefiant for extended periods. For those primarily interested in one or two specific games without ongoing engagement, individual purchases or waiting for discounts may still be more economical. Investors should note that the growth trajectory of Ubisoft+ Premium, while not disclosed in detail, is closely watched as a signal of how successfully Ubisoft is adapting to a market where subscription and free-to-play models increasingly shape player expectations and publisher revenue mixes.

Within Ubisoft’s broader portfolio, Ubisoft+ Premium sits at the intersection of content production, live services and platform partnerships, and Assassin’s Creed Shadows is being positioned as a marquee demonstration of the subscription’s value proposition at launch. Shares of Ubisoft Entertainment (FR0000054470) last traded on Euronext Paris at EUR 16.50 on 06/14/2026, reflecting market expectations for the company’s lineup and its execution on subscription and live-service strategies.

Ubisoft+ Premium in brief: key facts

• Product: Ubisoft+ Premium (with Assassin’s Creed Shadows)
• Manufacturer: Ubisoft Entertainment S.A.
• Category: Software subscription / game service
• Launch date: Initial Ubisoft+ launch 2019, Premium tier updated with day-one Shadows access for November 15, 2024
• MSRP / Price: $17.99 per month on PC and Xbox in supported regions
• Availability: Available in selected markets on PC via Ubisoft Connect, on Xbox consoles and through Amazon Luna cloud gaming
• Target audience: Players regularly buying multiple Ubisoft games or engaging deeply with the publisher’s live-service titles
• Key differentiator / USP: Day-one access to new Ubisoft releases such as Assassin’s Creed Shadows in premium editions, plus a deep back catalog of major franchises

This article was a.i.-assisted and editorially reviewed. Product information without warranty; prices and availability may change at short notice. Not investment advice and not a buy or sell recommendation. Trading involves risk up to and including the total loss of invested capital.