Ubisoft has abandoned its controversial always-on DRM for PC games following sustained consumer criticism.
The company revealed its decision to RPS, with its worldwide director for online games Stephanie Perotti explaining that the decision was actually implemented some time ago.
We have listened to feedback, and since June last year our policy for all of PC games is that we only require a one-time online activation when you first install the game, and from then you are free to play the game offline.
"We have listened to feedback, and since June last year our policy for all of PC games is that we only require a one-time online activation when you first install the game," she said. "From then you are free to play the game offline."
Ubisoft's DRM attempted to prevent piracy by requiring players to have an active internet connection at all times while playing a game. This meant playing without an internet connection was impossible, even if the game had no online functionality. Even more annoyingly, if your connection dropped at any stage then the game would instantly stop, meaning you lost whatever progress was unsaved.
A large amount of its controversy stemmed from the fact that pirated versions of Ubisoft titles could be played offline, effectively meaning that only honest purchasers were being penalised, especially when its servers went down. Thankfully this won't be the case for any of Ubisoft's upcoming titles, including the hotly anticipated Assassin's Creed III; all you'll need an internet connection for in future is the one-time online activation, and then to access any online services.
Perotti clarified, "Whenever you want to reach any online service, multiplayer, you will have to be connected, and obviously for online games you will also need to be online to play. But if you want to enjoy Assassin’s Creed III single player, you will be able to do that without being connected. And you will be able to activate the game on as many machines as you want."
The use of always-on DRM has never been particularly popular, with Diablo III coming under fire earlier this year as one of the most high profile adopters.
Ubisoft recently revealed it's experienced piracy rates of 93-95%, and was looking at adopting more F2P models in the future to try to recoup lost revenue.
Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant and has become immune to the demands of constantly being online thanks to MMOs. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.
Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com
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