A couple of days ago, a post listing the top 10 biggest Xbox rumors published on the Xbox Worlds blog gained a lot of traction, even though the post itself was pretty barebones and didn’t include any sources. Still, one of the rumors that got picked up by several YouTubers and news outlets is that Ubisoft+, the publisher game subscription service, could join Xbox Game Pass in holiday 2021.
Ubisoft+ originally launched as Uplay+ on PC through Ubisoft’s Uplay game launcher, and the $14.99 subscription service currently includes all of the publisher’s latest games on day one plus their DLCs at no additional cost. Following a rebranding to Ubisoft+, the publisher recently made its games available at no additional cost on Google Stadia as well as Amazon’s new Luna game subscription service which is currently in early access in the US.
With Microsoft recently adding EA Play games to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at no additional cost, it remains to be seen if the company can strike a similar deal with Ubisoft, especially since Ubisoft+ cost the same as Xbox Game Pass Ultimate ($14.99/month) in the US. In comparison, EA Play is just $4.99/month or $30 a year, though the catalog doesn’t include all EA games on day one like Ubisoft+.
We’ve already seen a couple of Ubisoft games join Xbox Game Pass such as Tom Clancy’s The Division or Rainbow Six Siege more recently, but the whole Ubisoft+ catalog coming to Xbox Game Pass sounds almost too good to be true. Still, the usually well-informed Jez Corden from Windows Central said on Twitter today that “this has a strong chance of being true, based on stuff I heard.”
I've seen rumours about Ubisoft Uplay+ joining Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
I think this has a strong chance of being true, based on stuff I've heard.
— Jezablo ???? (@JezCorden) December 30, 2020
We’ll see what happens, but what is probably more realistic is Ubisoft allowing Ubisoft+ subscribers to play games from the catalog on Xbox consoles at no additional cost. Ubisoft recently introduced a new cross-save system named Ubisoft Connect on games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Immortals Fenyx Rising, so Ubisoft+ subscribers can now start playing these games on PC and pick up where they left off on Google Stadia, Amazon Luna, and maybe Xbox consoles eventually.
For now, though, it’s probably best to take this rumor as a grain of salt. The Xbox Worlds blog post listed some pretty bold rumors, including a Microsoft acquisition of Sega in 2021 that never happened, as well as two other studio acquisitions that have yet to be announced by the company.
