There has been a lot of talk recently about both the merit of platform exclusive games and digital games , and Microsoft's latest partnership with Ubisoft seems to be a move to support both its Xbox platform on PC and console as well as its digital game sales. The new Xbox × Ubisoft initiative will grant buyers of certain Ubisoft games on the Xbox Store a free PC license that can be redeemed via Ubisoft Connect.

Ubisoft and Microsoft will include any games purchased from July 21 in this agreement, but those PC licenses will gradually be added to user accounts in a progressive rollout slated to be completed on August 4. There are 13 games in total covered by this agreement, and the free license only goes one way—you cannot purchase the PC version of the game in order to get a free Xbox license. Additionally, content like season passes and DLC content will also cross over from Xbox to PC, but consumables and single-use items will not. It also seems as though the games will be locked to the Ubisoft Connect platform instead of something like Steam.