Ubisoft's upcoming shooter game Tom Clancy's The Division 2 will not be available on Steam. The game will only release on Uplay and Epic Games Store.

The decision to not release the game on Steam is surprising because the first entry in the franchise is available on the store. However, gamers still required Ubisoft's proprietary software Uplay to launch the game.

It is one of the first high profile Ubisoft titles that won't be available on Steam at all. The publisher has moved to its own digital store Uplay several years ago, forcing millions to use their store by providing no alternative.

The publisher was planning to release the game on Steam but has quietly taken the title down several hours ago. The release on Epic Games Store will likely still require the use of Ubisoft's Uplay to launch the game.

In our recent opinion feature we discussed the practices of Ubisoft and several other major publishers, concluding that the power struggle was not in the best interest of PC gamers.

Ubisoft has yet to commend on the removal of the game's Steam listing.