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Ubisoft Connect is far from the worst PC game launcher - I mean, the buggy Xbox app is right there - but I always get irrationally annoyed when I select a title like Far Cry 6 on Steam and it needs to pop up a second launcher to actually start the game.
If you have similar feelings about launchers-for-launchers, then here's some good news: Ubisoft is reportedly trialling a new solution, called "Ubisoft Connect Services", which is intended to maintain Ubisoft-specific features like achievements and cross-progression without needing to have the Ubisoft Connect launcher pop up - or even be installed.
The trial, which was posted to Reddit as a Steam screenshot, is set to start with a single game: 2024's Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. Ubisoft's statement calls the first release "an initial step toward a smoother and more streamlined launch experience on Steam", and goes on to say that Services will "progressively evolve and roll out to more Ubisoft games on Steam in the future".
Sounds smart to me. In fact, Ubisoft has been on something of a user experience kick recently, with the news that it has added its games to the Xbox Disc-to-Digital beta, as well as working with Microsoft to unlock PC versions of purchased Ubisoft games on Xbox.
It'll be interesting to see how quickly Ubisoft drops the Connect requirement for its other Steam titles, but this is certainly a step in the first direction.
What do you make of the news? Let me know in the comments below.