Ubisoft has recently branded their controversial always-on DRM as “a success,” despite outrage from legitimate paying customers and pirates having already circumvented their tough anti-piracy measures. Speaking to PC Gamer, an Ubisoft representative said they had seen “a clear reduction in piracy of our titles which required a persistent online connection, and from that point of view the requirement is a success.”
Their strict DRM first appeared in the game Settlers 7, which requires a constant Internet connection to the Ubisoft servers to progress in the game and save. While Settlers 7 was a relatively minor title, it really outraged customers when it was placed in Assassin’s Creed 2. Legitimate gamers were forced to connect to the Ubisoft servers to play the single-player title, and when they go down (as they did once), no-one could play the game in any capability.
While Ubisoft brands the DRM a success at reducing the piracy of their titles, pirate release groups still managed to circumvent it, with group Skidrow (responsible for cracking the Assassin’s Creed 2 DRM) saying in their crack release that “nothing stops the leading force” and that Ubisoft should “focus on the game and not the DRM.”
Legitimate gamers will once again need to connect constantly to the Ubisoft servers to play their upcoming title Driver: San Francisco, which is slated for a September 6 release.
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