Assassin’s Creed Valhalla sails away from Steam for Epic Game Store and next-gen consoles

Ubisoft today announced the latest Assassin’s Creed title: Valhalla. The latest game will not be available on Steam however, with Ubisoft choosing to partner exclusively with Epic Game Store for the release of its franchise title for 2020 – it will also be available on Uplay of course and via the Uplay+ subscription service.

The decision follows the same strategy with The Division 2. Ubisoft said last year that it would launch more titles in collaboration with Epic, but those titles were unannounced. Today’s unveiling makes Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla the first mainline entry in the franchise to not be available on Steam at launch.

The game is also one of only a handful announced to be coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X – with Microsoft’s console and logo taking the marketing lead on the announcement trailer. Xbox One and PS4 don’t miss out, though, with all current devices (bar the Switch obviously) receiving the game. A pattern that we’re likely to see for all major third=party releases this winter. The game is also coming to Stadia – unsurprising given Ubisoft’s strong support for the platform to date.

The Viking setting has been long-rumoured and was announced yesterday, via the medium of Photoshop. A lengthy livestream saw well-known digital artist Bosslogic creating a new piece of art in realtime to reveal the setting and name of the new game.

There’s no firm release date as of yet, stating only Holiday 2020.

“We can’t wait for players to experience the incredible Viking journey ahead of them,” said Ashraf Ismail, creative director of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. “Being in Eivor’s boots as both a Viking raider and a clan leader, players will face the conflicts of establishing a new home while in the midst of a power struggle for control of England.”