Ubisoft Launching New Anti-Piracy System

27 Jan 2010 at 13:31:38 by Tim McDonald

Ubisoft has revealed that it is implementing a new PC anti-piracy measure.

The company, which previously relied upon the much-maligned Starforce DRM, is now using a proprietary online system tied to each user's Ubi.com account.

According to Gamespy, the new system is designed to be a less intrusive. There are no disc checks, so players can enjoy their games without needing to put the DVD in the drive, games have unlimited activations and can be installed on as many PCs as you like, and - in a twist that I've been waiting for, for quite some time - save files will be stored on the Ubisoft servers, meaning that players can start a game on one computer and continue it, hassle-free, from another.

The downside is that this new service will require players to connect to the internet in order to authenticate. It's something that's still decried by players, although with the rising popularity of Steam, most appear to be getting used to it.

What's unclear is whether or not players must be permanently connected to the internet in order to continue playing - if saves are stored on remote servers, we can imagine a possibility of losing save data should they lose internet connection. We've contacted Ubi for comment.

Ubisoft have since clarified to Edge that the company stopped using Starforce awhile before this new measure started coming into place, and that this new platform is not in any way connected to it.

The new service came into force with the Settlers 7 beta. We're not sure whether the forthcoming PC version of Assassin's Creed II will use it, but we've asked Ubi and will keep you posted when we know for sure.

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