Ubisoft's DRM servers go down, games unplayable

Written by Joe Martin

March 8, 2010 | 11:49

Tags: #assassins-creed-2 #drm #piracy #silent-hunter-5

Companies: #ubisoft

Ubisoft's new always-online DRM system has been broken for the last ten hours or so, preventing legitimate customers from being able to play new PC games Assassin's Creed 2 and Silent Hunter 5.

The new system requires players to always be online when they play games, even in singleplayer, or try to save their progress. With the servers down though, nobody can play at all and fans are spewing their outrage into the official forums.

Although Ubisoft promised when it announced the system that it would monitor servers 24/7 and ensure that there was constant support, customers have been cut off from content for 10 hours and Ubisoft's response from Community Managers seems slow-moving.

I don’t have any clear information on what the issue is since I’m not in the office, but clearly the extended downtime and lengthy login issues are unacceptable, particularly as I’ve been told these servers are constantly monitored," said Ubi rep Ubi.Vigil on the official forums, via RPS.

"I’ll do what I can to get more information on what the issue is here first thing tomorrow and push for a resolution and assurance this won’t happen in the future. I realise that’s not ideal but there’s only so much I can do on a weekend as I’m not directly involved with the server side of this system.

Ubisoft's position isn't strengthened by the fact that the new DRM has reportedly been cracked within a few days, with unconfirmed reports of workarounds for pirated versions of the games meaning that only legitimate customers are losing out.

Ubisoft has commented that "exceptional demand" has toppled the servers and said that players trying to start a game may have problems, while those who are currently playing should be fine. What's concerning is that Ubisoft didn't anticipate this "exceptional demand" over the launch weeks for two big PC games and the first real test of the system.

Many sites and fans are now calling for Ubisoft to abandon this DRM method and apologise to fans. Let us know your thoughts in the forums.
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