Ubisoft Tries A Different DRM For Its Game

Ubisoft is trying a new kind of digital rights management for its PC games: you’ll have to be connected to the Internet all the time.

The company is touting that there are benefits to this new DRM. All game saves can be accessed  from any PC and you won’t require the disc in the drive to play.

Brent Wilkinson, Director, Customer Service and Production Planning at Ubisoft told Game Spy “If you own a hundred PCs, you can install your games on a hundred PCs.”

However, not everyone is excited about this development.

Ars Technica points out that the Internet isn’t easily accessible everywhere. “If your Internet goes out, if you’re on a flight with no wireless or don’t want to pay the fee, or if you’re at a hotel that only offers for-pay Internet, you aren’t going to be able to to play your games,” writes Ars Technica’s Ben Kuchera.

The Montreal-based company hasn’t had the best of luck with DRM. The PC version of Rainbow Six Vegas 2 required a disc check which was a problem for gamers who downloaded from legal sources. To make matters worse, Ubisoft’s solution was using a crack from “warez” group Reloaded and didn’t credit the group nor any attribution.

The new DRM debuts with the Settlers 7 beta.

[GameSpy via Ars Technica]