Stardock releases TBS without any DRM, grants free updates to buyers

Stardock has announced that Elemental: War of Magic, which releases today via its digital distribution site Impulse, will not include any form of DRM.

While the move may sound a bit surprising since its Demigod title was pirated over 100,000 times in its opening weekend alone, Stardock still doesn't feel DRM "works," and CEO Brad Wardell said the publisher has found a way around it without inviting pirates in.

This involves releasing free updates for its games to registered users. This way, said Wardell, pirates are discouraged because they're not interested in a product without all of its features.

"If you buy it online, we know who you are," Wardell told CNN. "If you buy it retail, there are concerns about being inconvenienced by (DRM) connections.

"We want to remove those concerns and try to focus on our customer."

An account with Stardock grants users access to everything Elemental: War of Magic has to offer, including "the ability to make your own challenges and creatures and share them with others."

This form of protection for a PC title is likely to go over much better than Ubisoft's "always online" form of DRM - R.U.S.E. being the only exception.