Assassin’s Creed Shadows will use Denuvo on PC and requires “Ubisoft Account Linking”

PC gamers don’t want this – Ubisoft confirms that Assassin’s Creed Shadows has Denuvo and Ubisoft Account linking

Ubisoft has just made a move that will annoy many PC gamers. While Assassin’s Creed Shadows is launching on Steam on day-1, it won’t be a native Steam application. Instead, it will require Ubisoft Account Linking. Additionally, Ubisoft has confirmed that Assassin’s Creed Shadows will feature Denuvo, a controversial anti-temper technology.

These two moves from Ubisoft will be a turn-off for many PC gamers. Simply put, you shouldn’t need to sign into a Ubisoft account to play a game on Steam. Your Steam account should be sufficient. EA has learned this lesson with the Origin/EA App account linking and launched the Steam version of Dragon Age: The Veilguard a “native” Steam application. While account linking is normal for Ubisoft games, it remains a problematic feature for gamers. Remember the backlash after Sony started requiring PSN logins for its PC games?

Adding insult to injury, Ubisoft has confirmed that Assassin’s Creed Shadows will feature Denuvo on PC. Denuvo is an “anti-tamper” technology that aims to prevent piracy. For legitimate owners of games, Denuvo is an unnecessary performance hog. While preventing piracy is a positive thing for developers, Denuvo’s technology has been found to negatively affect the performance of games. Additionally, it also interferes with the modding of many games, another factor that makes the technology unpopular. Most conversations about Denuvo online involve PC gamers expressing their dislike of the anti-tamper technology. With this in mind, we can see why using Denuvo is often seen as a “bad move” by PC gamers.

Ubisoft needs Assassin’s Creed Shadows to be a success. The company has been financially underperforming, with its share price recently dropping to a 10-year low. Furthermore, the company has opened an investigation into its performance, which aims to uncover the source of its issues. Simply put, Ubisoft can’t have another AAA failure on its hands. The fate of Ubisoft may be at stake.

You can join the discussion on Assassin’s Creed Shadows using Denuvo on “Ubisoft Account Linking” on PC on the OC3D Forums.