Wed, Jan 27, 2010 | 19:06 GMT
Ubisoft to ditch StarForce DRM for new application
Ubisoft has announced it’s replacing its StarForce digital rights management application for a newer method.
Now, customers who purchase PC titles from the company will connect to a Ubi.com account to authenticate games online each time a title is played, which means in order to play – you will always have to be connected to the internet.
Players won’t need the the game disc in the drive for authentication, it allows unlimited installations, and all customer save data will be stored remotely on Ubisoft servers – which means no offline play support should your internet go down.
“If you own a hundred PCs, you can install your games on a hundred PCs,” Brent Wilkinson, director of production planning at Ubisoft, told GamsSpy “We think most people are going to be fine with it. Most people are always connected to an Internet connection.”
The new DRM is expected to debut during the closed Beta for The Settlers 7 and is slated to become standard with all Ubisoft PC releases.
This includes the PC release of Assassin’s Creed 2, which hits the UK March 5 and North America March 16.
There’s a FAQ for the new SecuROM system through here.
Thanks, Edge.
6 comments
#1
Hunam
26/01/10, 7:00 pm
They were still using starforce!? Christ.
#2
SunKing
26/01/10, 7:05 pm
Getting rid of StarForce = good. Requiring always online Internet connection = just as bad. Way to go, Ubisoft.
#3
Eregol
26/01/10, 7:20 pm
So, what about those who don’t have internet (but still have high end gaming PCs. wierd I know)?
#4
Hunam
26/01/10, 7:23 pm
More like, what about those of us with decent pc’s but reliant on the UK internet infrastructure not going down when we want to play AC2?
#5
Bulk Slash
26/01/10, 7:36 pm
Or those of us with gaming laptops who won’t always have a wireless connection available?
All this will do is encourage piracy. If gamers have to chose between infecting their computer with messy DRM solutions or downloading a cracked copy that doesn’t even require the disc, which are they likely to go for?
PC gaming is so fucked right now. If it’s not drivers causing graphical errors or crashes it’s the DRM telling you that your 4 activations have been used up.
#6
blackdreamhunk
26/01/10, 10:26 pm
I can under stand ubisoft wants to protect their software. However the way Ubisoft is going about it, is not going to help.
Ubisoft sure loves their consumers base! don’t be suprised when consoles get more hacked and increase in piracy.
your better off going with blue ray. I mean the media says you can’t irate blue ray. Yes pc gaming has blue ray already.