Ubisoft has announced that The Division 2 will launch on the Epic Games Store, alongside its own store, while leaving Steam behind.
That certainly seems to be the case, as pre-orders for The Division 2 are already live on the Epic Games Store. The title comes in three editions, Standard, Gold and Ultimate, each offering more goodies, such as the Year 1 Pass, at a higher price. Purchasing the title on the Epic Games Store still requires linking your Uplay account in order to play, as was the case with the first entry in the series on Steam.
Pre-ordering The Division 2 on the Epic Games Store will also grant access to the private beta scheduled to happen sometime before launch. If you’ve pre-ordered the game from a different source, you should still be able to get into the beta.
When the outlet asked Ubisoft to clarify whether The Division 2 would be on Steam or not, an Ubisoft representative said that, on launch, the title will only be available on the Epic Games Store and the Ubisoft Store.
The Epic Games Store already nabbed a handful of exclusives, but The Division 2 is the first AAA title that leaves Steam behind in favor of Epic’s digital storefront. It’s worth keeping in mind that several games will be exclusive to the Epic Games Store for a year, or during Early Access. Afterwards, they might just make it over to Steam, which could also be the case with The Division 2.
The Epic Games Store is certainly taking small steps towards establishing itself as a Steam competitor. One AAA title isn’t enough to put Valve in trouble, but as long as more major publishers start favoring Epic’s storefront, alongside disenchanted indie devs looking for better exposure, the situation could change in the future.
