Ubisoft Connect asking for CD key after I bought R6S on Steam — what gives?

Happened to me too. Make sure your Steam and Ubisoft accounts are linked properly

That’s usually a linking issue between your Steam and Ubisoft accounts. Go to your Ubisoft account settings and check if your Steam is properly connected. If not, unlink and re-link it, then relaunch the game

Try restarting both clients - sometimes the activation just bugs out on first launch

Sometimes Ubisoft Connect fails to auto-recognize games bought on Steam. You can try manually activating the CD key by right-clicking the game in your Steam library > Manage > CD Keys, and copy-paste it into Ubisoft Connect when prompted

Had the same issue last month. Steam said the game was installed, but Ubisoft didn’t detect it. Turns out I had logged into a different Ubisoft account by mistake. Logged out, switched to the right one - worked instantly. Double-check which Ubi account you’re using.

Also worth noting - if you ever refunded the game or tried family sharing, it can mess with the license sync. Ubisoft’s system is pretty fragile when it comes to ownership validation from Steam. If nothing else works, open a ticket with screenshots - their support does respond.

I had the same issue, I logged into a different Ubisoft account, and the game refused to connect to the correct one. Make sure you’re logged into the Ubisoft account linked to your R6S, otherwise you’ll have to contact support. It’s really frustrating, but that’s how it works now

I doubt they're going to fix this in any way