Uplay+ bundles Assassin's Creed, Rainbow Six, and all of Ubisoft into one subscription

Here's Ubisoft's pitch for a games subscription service: pay $15 a month, get absolutely everything.

The service, called Uplay+, will be a PC-only proposition (for now) when it launches on Sept. 3. Users will get immediate access to a library of more than 100 games -- Ubisoft titles of the past and present -- as well as all their attendant add-ons and downloadable content releases.

This isn't a streaming service, though Uplay+ will be coming to Google Stadia in 2020, with more details to come on that later. It's more like Xbox Game Pass or EA Origin Access in that there's a library of "free" games that you can click on and install at your leisure.

In Ubisoft's game subscription, the library is everything. If it's been released for PC at some point in the past, it's likely going to be available. ("Likely" only because Ubisoft hasn't released a full list yet; but we spotted a bunch of deep cuts in the reveal, including classics like Beyond Good & Evil and Prince of Persia.)

The subscription also includes brand-new games, like 2019's Ghost Recon: Breakpoint. That's the flagship title launching with Uplay+, and while it won't be out until Oct. 4, subscribers can expect beta access for Breakpoint just a couple days after the service launches (early access is another perk of subscribing).

It's also worth noting: new games like Breakpoint will launch on Uplay+ in their fanciest form. Users will be able to access the premium editions of new games, along with any bonus content they might include.

At $14.99 monthly, Ubisoft's subscription service lines up directly with EA Origin Access. That makes sense; Electronic Arts, like Ubisoft, is a publisher known for its diverse array of game franchises and its commitment to post-release support. Both services hinge much of their appeal not just on the games, but on all the post-release add-ons being included as well.

Take something like Rainbow Six Siege, a game released in 2015 that's received updates every year. They're spread out across four "seasons" of content, and they introduce new playable characters, maps, and more to the game, at $30 for each new annual pass.

Not every Ubisoft game has that kind of shelf life, of course. But generally speaking, the publisher's latest game releases -- many of which are vast open world games that even a 50-hour story struggles to fully explore -- are going to be followed by add-ons that give you new reasons to jump back in.

If you're the kind of fan who stans hard for Ubisoft's range of popular game franchises -- Assassin's Creed, Ghost Recon, The Division, Watch Dogs, maybe even Splinter Cell again one day -- there's probably a cost savings for you here. It's somewhat dependent on Ubisoft's release calendar for any given year, but there are generally two or three major releases annually, plus their attendant DLC and a range of smaller games.

There's also something to be said for jumping on a subscription for a month or two, say when a big, new game drops. You won't own the game in question long-term, but if you know you're skipping DLC and won't play for more than a month or two, that's a more cost-effective option for checking out Ubisoft's latest.

All of these games will still be sold the way they've always been, as standalone releases. The subscription service simply offers Ubisoft customers a new way to approach its games, with the publisher betting on the fact that the most invested fans, the ones on board enough that they're snatching every post-release add-on, will create a healthy subscriber base.