Ubisoft
While some Ubisoft games have recently returned to Steam after a years-long absence, not all of the usual features fans expect have come along with them. At least that’s the case for the Steam version of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, which is missing in-game achievement tracking on Steam.
This omission comes despite the fact that both the Ubisoft Connect version of the game and previous Assassin’s Creed titles on Steam included the fan-favorite, platform-level progress-tracking feature. Achievements are also missing from the Epic Games Store version of the game, though that could be because the title was released on that platform before EGS supported achievements at all.
While players noticed this omission as soon as the game was relisted on Steam last month, it was only last week that an Ubisoft representative confirmed that the change was intentional. “Just to officially confirm… Steam achievements are not supported for this title,” the rep wrote on the Steam forums for the game. “If there’s anything more we can assist with, please let us know!”
The original version of that forum post (as captured by the Internet Archive) added that “there are no current plans to implement this in future” and that “any achievements earned in-game will run through Ubisoft Connect.” Those sentences were removed from the public post less than 24 hours after the initial post, however.
My progress must be acknowledged
Interestingly, the Ubisoft Connect version of Valhalla was also missing achievements when it originally launched on that platform in late 2020. At the time, an Ubisoft rep wrote that this was “an intended change,” then quickly corrected that post to say the omission was “unintended” and that “we are actively working to enable achievements.” Achievements were eventually added to the Ubisoft Connect version of the game a couple of months later, in January of 2021.
So far, the omission of achievements hasn’t led to the kind of widespread review bombing that some other Steam releases have faced for “off topic” complaints. That said, a fair number of recent user reviews on both Steam and Metacritic have made a disgruntled note of the omission.
“You can’t make checklist simulator games and be surprised when people ask for the pen and paper to actually check off a list,” wrote one peeved Steam reviewer. “This game is designed to have achievements and designed for completionist players.”
For what it’s worth, at least 90 percent of Steam players are listed as having completed the most basic early game Steam achievement for 2018’s Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. That ratio dwindles to 34.9 percent for the “Odyssey’s End” achievement, earned for completing the game’s epilogue.
