Ubisoft store leak suggests that an Origin Access-style service may be coming

A leak out of the Ubisoft Store suggests that the publisher may be about to announce a subscription-based service through its digital storefront that could be similar to Electronic Arts' Origin Access program. As noticed by users on Resetera, a placeholder for a "Ubisoft Pass Premium" recently appeared on the store, before being quickly yoinked away. 

Interestingly, even after the image was taken down, a "Ubisoft subscription" category remained available on the store, according to VG247, even though no subscription-based services are currently being offered. That's since been taken down as well.   

The working theory at this point is that Ubisoft is preparing to roll out its own take on Origin Access, which gives subscribers access to trials or full releases of new games and an extensive selection of EA's back catalog, as well as discounts on purchases made on Origin. EA divided Access into a two-tier service last year—Basic and Premier—and the presence of "Premium" in the Ubisoft leak could be a sign that it's aiming at the same thing. 

The timing of the leak works, too. E3, traditionally a forum for big announcements like this, is just around the corner—it runs June 11-13 this year, although major publishers (including Ubisoft) will be holding their press events prior to the official start. But also noteworthy is that Ubisoft has recently reported significant growth in its storefront: Ubi said in its last earnings report that Division 2 sales on the store were ten times greater than Division 1, and CEO Yves Guillemot revealed earlier this year that opting to put new games on the Epic Games Store instead of Steam "really helped to actually do more of our business on our own store." Given all that, it wouldn't be terribly surprising if Ubisoft has decided that this is the time to lean heavily into its own home-grown services. 

I've reached out to Ubisoft for more information and will update if I receive a reply.