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Report - Ubisoft DRM limits installations to specific hardware

Brenna Hillier avatar
News by Brenna Hillier Contributor
Published on

Something of a kerfuffle has broken out - again - over Ubisoft's ever-troubled DRM policies, which don't like it when you switch out hardware.

As the team at Guru3D learned to their dismay, the publisher's PC anti-piracy measures apparently can't distinguish between a new computer and a single hardware upgrade.

Having installed three copies of Anno 2070 - the limit imposed by the DRM - the reviewers swapped in a new GPU for comparison purposes, and found themselves locked out of the game.

Developer Bluebyte unlocked the site's key to allow the testers to continue their analysis, but Ubisoft hasn't issued a comment.

Ubisoft has been the subject of constant ire over its anti-piracy measures over the last few years, with players reacting badly to always-on requirements; delayed PC releases; and mixed messaging. last year, Eric Chahi's From Dust spurred so much anger Steam was forced to issue refunds.

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