Great news for gamers as Ubisoft decided to loosen up their DRM. The game publishers pledges that from now on they will only require a single online activation after installing, they will get rid of the pesky always-on DRM and will no longer set limits on how many PCs the game may be activated.
Ubisoft’s worldwide director for online games, Stephanie Perotti, explained that always-on has actually been gone for quite a while.
“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.”
Ubisoft’s DRM had previously meant that you could not launch games without an internet connection, and if your connection dropped at any point the game you were playing would instantly stop, often losing progress you may have made. It was widely derided, and the bane of many gamers, but Ubisoft seemed defiant in response. Until now. Clarifying the new position, Perotti summarises it, using Assassin’s Creed III as an example:
“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.”
