Ubisoft has told MCV that the deactivated serial keys were not just ones bought from other markets, but had been obtained via stolen credit cards. The game publishers recommends people to only buy from trusted sources, like its own webshop.
Key strippers have come under fire from publishers who are finding their profit margins eroding due to the practice. However, they’re usually reluctant to do anything about it out of risk of upsetting fans, which is what has happened this weekend.
Yet Ubisoft has told MCV that these codes were not just ones bought from other markets, but had actually been stolen.
“We regularly deactivate keys that were fraudulently obtained and resold,” the firm told us. “In this case, we are currently investigating the origin of the fraud, and will update customers as soon as we have more information to share. In the meantime, customers should contact the vendor from whom they purchased the key.”