Ubisoft plays down DRM "hack" rumours

By Richard Leadbetter Published 4 March, 2010

Pirate downloads "not complete".

Ubisoft has responded to claims that its new internet-linked DRM system has been compromised, saying that pirates downloading cracked versions of Silent Hunter 5 and Assassin's Creed 2 will be getting a game that is "not complete".

"You have probably seen rumours on the web that Assassin’s Creed II and Silent Hunter 5 have been cracked," Ubisoft's statement reads. "Please know that this rumour is false and while a pirated version may seem to be complete at start up, any gamer who downloads and plays a cracked version will find that their version is not complete."

A truncated form of the statement has also shown up on Ubisoft's official Twitter feed, flagged up as "rumour control".

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About Richard Leadbetter

Rich has been a games journalist since the days of 16-bit and specialises in technical analysis. Commonly known around Eurogamer as the Blacksmith of the Future.

Read more articles from Richard by visiting the Richard Leadbetter archive page.

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Comments (78) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • MiniAmin #1 2 years ago

    Of course it's "incomplete"; it doesn't have that stupid DRM you insist upon!

  • dsmx #2 2 years ago

    OF course it's not complete, it doesn't have their shitty DRM in it. lol same post nearly.
    Edited by 1 at 04/03/10 @ 11:59

  • Skurmedel #3 2 years ago

    You two should hook up. Soulmates and all that.

  • gaztech #4 2 years ago

    They prolly dump a load of game variables on the server whcih you download every time you play the game, no connection to ubinet or whatever it's called no progression/sub handling/people running around your settlers village etc etc

  • sneetch #5 2 years ago

    Damn MiniAmin and dsmx got there first. Can I be in your gang, great minds and all that. :)

  • dsmx #6 2 years ago

    No, you can't. To be in our gang you have to be fast and have a great mind, you were 5 minutes to slow.
    Edited by 1 at 04/03/10 @ 12:06

  • TeaFiend #7 2 years ago

    I heard MiniAmin and dsmx are getting married. To each other. The children will be beautiful.

  • ChthonicEcho #8 2 years ago

    Bullshit.

    Assassin's Creed II is not cracked, yes, but Silent Hunter 5 is. It's perfectly playable.

  • Machetazo #9 2 years ago

    DRM's about as successful in the long term as D:ream! :p

  • FooAtari #10 2 years ago

    Complete game or not, what a waste of time and resources that was, seems it was cracked same day as release.

    As ususal pirates get the better experience, PAYING customer gets shafted.

  • MyPointIs #11 2 years ago

    They are right. Without the added "tension" of knowing you'll loose progress if your conection breaks, the games are not the same.

  • tiny_Eggy #12 2 years ago

    They just don't get it. It's like the record industry and look where they ended up.

  • MiniAmin #13 2 years ago

    @ TeaFiend

    I'm not sure they'll be beautiful - but they'll most certainly be twins!

  • dsmx #14 2 years ago

    Hey we know what I look like, I was on the bbc a few months back reviewing windows 7. There's a video of me and a radio interview.

  • ghiest #15 2 years ago

    Here are some straws Ubisoft ... now grasp at them wildly.

  • Redeye #16 2 years ago

    Ah Ubisoft, how your ineptitude at damage limitation amuses me.

    Or more to the point, 'yo ho ho' and a massive 'chin up', you dumb pilchards.

    (DISCLAIMER: I myself won't be flying the Jolly Roger, but I can well appreciate the mindset of those that will be.)

  • myiagros #17 2 years ago

    It's always great how the pirates end up with the better version of the game, without all the stupid draconian measurres legitimate customers have to put up with.

  • ryandsimmons #18 2 years ago

    I'd be very interested to see what "incomplete" means.

    I suspect it lacks achievements or something else cosmetic.

  • thedaveeyres #19 2 years ago

    If you lay down a challenge to the PC community, how can you be surprised when people respond to that challenge?

    There's a fine line to tread, and if you go to the extreme and piss people off, who in many cases legitimately just want to play your game, people are going to go that extra mile to say "Fuck you".

    That's what this is - that's why Starcraft 2 beta is cracked, AC2 is cracked, SH5 is cracked, and community sites such as Digg are whooping with joy about it. DRM has gone too far.
    Edited by 1 at 04/03/10 @ 12:51

  • Mooglepies #20 2 years ago

    Rumour control eh? More like damage control.

  • Boomerang #21 2 years ago

    Nah - "fire fighting".

    Also, i'd like to see more use of the word "pilchards". Make it so.
    Edited by 1 at 04/03/10 @ 12:54

  • Fillem #22 2 years ago

    If anything, this stupid form of DRM will lead to more people informing themselves on the way to "crack" games.
    A lot of people want to play games on their laptops, if I go on holiday I might want to take my laptop with me and play some games on a rainy day.
    If that game happens to be a Ubisoft game and I don't have WiFi around, I now have to crack the game first to be able to play.
    This WILL lead to more people educating themselves on this whole cracking business.

  • gamingdave #23 2 years ago

    Well thats just a lie isnt it? Of course its complete. It bypasses the DRM and allows for local saving, other than that there is no communication with the Ubisoft servers. The "patch" is simply loading the game in a different way.

    Not suprised in the slightest this has happeded. Bought my copy of SH5 Gold Edition last night online, installed the game, but by the time it was down it was too late to start playnig, so will be staring my campaign tonight.

    I will however be cracking this first before I play.

  • AliRay #24 2 years ago

    THIS ISN'T THE WAY TO SNUB OUT PIRACY YOU GREEDY SODS!

  • jonfon #25 2 years ago

    "THIS ISN'T THE WAY TO SNUB OUT PIRACY YOU GREEDY SODS!"

    Snub out piracy?

    "Ya know what. i'm not talking to Piracy any more. She's like a total airhead plus I heard her hair is like a dye-job"

    Must...stop...channeling...Clueless...Does...nerd-cred...no. ..good...

  • Metalfish #26 2 years ago

    Incomplete because they can't buy the DLC that finishes the game? ;)

  • Silvervein #27 2 years ago

    I like the term used by ubi in this case, namely, damage control.
    However, I'd like to give you two examples of when one should, and should not use damage control.

    You should use it while it can change something.
    You *should not* use it when your ship is already at the bottom, and served as a reef adornment for last 200 years.

    Yarr matey...
    Edited by 2 at 04/03/10 @ 13:11

  • TheBoyChris #28 2 years ago

    Silvervein - neither of those links worked for me?

    Ah nevermind, you removed them.
    Edited by 1 at 04/03/10 @ 13:12

  • Silvervein #29 2 years ago

    @TheBoyChris

    Yes, my apologies: I noticed only after I posted. First one showed a tank during firefight, the other, old sunken spanish galleon.

  • jonbwfc #30 2 years ago

    I'm probably going to get negged for even asking this, but exactly what 'better experience' are the people playing the pirated version actually getting? As far as I read, the only requirement of the copy protection on ACII is that you need to be online while you play. And aren't people going to download the pirate version, so aren't they going to be online anyway?
    I can see that those playing the pirate version are better off by roughly 40 quid but this isn't like a NOCD crack for example. or being able to run a dedicated server of the cracked version of MW2. I really can't see in this case what the people playing the pirate version are gaining other than not having to pay for it.

  • Rizo #31 2 years ago

    People with the pirated edition can play on there laptops on the train.

  • kangarootoo #32 2 years ago

    I know AC2 included Ubi's new sort of home grown achievement system. I forget what it is called now... UPlay perhaps?

    I guess that needs to connect to a server to function, so a cracked version won't be able to take part. I think in the 360 version of AC2 I was able to unlock an Altair suit (which I never wore) and 10 extra throwing knives. Maybe that is what they are refering to by imcomplete.

  • bad09 #33 2 years ago

    @ jonbwfc

    This DRM means you cannot actually play the game at all if not logged on with Ubi. Pirates have no such problem with their free version, therefore a better experience than us paying customers.

  • Spekingur #34 2 years ago

    It's probably UPlay, yes.
    What companies are doing is basically that they are telling us when we can or can't play. We, as gamers, don't like that.

  • Skurmedel #35 2 years ago

    You don't have to "pirate" to benefit from the crack, it works on your bought copy as well I presume. So I guess it is a joyous moment for anybody wanting to free themselves of their UbiSoft ® Shackles™ :)
    Edited by 2 at 04/03/10 @ 13:47

  • TeaFiend #36 2 years ago

    @jonbwfc:
    Pirated versions can play when:
    Not connected to the internet
    When suffering slight net hicups
    When Ubi servers are down
    When restricting what is using the net to help with net speed on a different program/machine

  • space_ace #37 2 years ago

    Ubisoft plays down DRM "hack" rumours

    while the pirates are busy playing their game and won't bother to respond :)

  • bad09 #38 2 years ago

    "You don't have to "pirate" to benefit from the crack, it works on your bought copy as well I presume"

    I hope that's the case because I am moving in with Mrs bad09 soon and giving up my lovely stable cable connection and going back to a phoneline one which does cut out at times, can't get cable there either :(

  • andijames #39 2 years ago

    Ubi should take a leaf out of Apple's book on this i think. Apple don't do any checks whatsoever with Snow Leopard to check that you a) Have Leopard installed or b) Require a 'CD Key' to install. They simply let you install your software for what it's there for. True there will be some people around who will pirate it (and this unfortunately is not going away anytime soon) but if you look at the sales figures it hardly put a dent in them. If anything, people bought it as it was reasonably priced and they weren't getting 101 verifications to check if it was legit!

    Always going to be a game of cat and mouse with copyright protection on games. I don't think that will subside anytime soon.

  • andijames #40 2 years ago

    @SPAM:

    Very true but they retain a loyal fanbase from little decisions like this which will ultimately make them more money instead of alienating and disillusioning people with the lengths they go to protect their software.

  • xentar #41 2 years ago

    thats why god invented the PS3 :)

    edit: wow, hate for pointing out that there is platform with no piracy and nonintrusive copy protection? Bring it on!
    Edited by 1 at 04/03/10 @ 18:21

  • Tangled #42 2 years ago

    Well, I hope they meant that the DRM is more complex and the pirate versions have some parts of the game disabled. If not, then the race is already over and I haven't even gotten my popcorn yet :/

  • Skurmedel #43 2 years ago

    Force Mrs Bad09 to get a better connection! Even if she has to dig down the fiber cables with her own hands!

    Anyhow, I think it'll work on a normal copy of the game, if I remember its a good old "replace .exe"-crack.
    Edited by 3 at 04/03/10 @ 14:37

  • Sunyavadin #44 2 years ago

    Like my "Incomplete" version of C&C3 I had to download in order to be able to play, because the DRM recognised my Kane Edition DVD as being fake?


    I'll take that "Incomplete" version any day!

  • bad09 #45 2 years ago

    @ Skurmedel

    LOL! I would if I could but as she lives in a flat and it's an communal analogue connection so she'd need to re- cable the whole block! Mind you I wonder how long it would take her?

  • andijames #46 2 years ago

    @bad09

    Just promise her a new handbag and shoes for when she's completed and she'll have the whole block done before you can say 'where's my wallet' :D

  • bad09 #47 2 years ago

    @ andijames

    Actually she's gonna have the wallet now, to look after her career when mini bad09 arrives I'm officially a house hubby for a while :)

  • TeaFiend #48 2 years ago

    I suspect bad09 will have a few nights on the sofa after this suggestion.

  • andijames #49 2 years ago

    @bad09

    Ahh congratulations! In that case ask to borrow the wallet and buy yourself a new pinny :D Everytime i go round to Mrs James house i'm left holding the baby whilst she nips to the loo, does the washing up, cleans up - everything she can't do basically when she's on her own!

  • kangarootoo #50 2 years ago

    @andijames

    The Apple userbase is also older on average than the gaming audience and have more disposable income.

    There are all sorts of factors at play, so its a little risky to assume that the reason Apple don't DRM their OS is because their software is so good everybody is simply happy to pay for it (most game pirates don't make a distinction with regard to quality).

  • kangarootoo #51 2 years ago

    @bad09

    Congrats dude.

  • bad09 #52 2 years ago

    @ andijames
    Thanks dude, but I'd prefer a tabard to a pinny myself :)

    @ TeaFiend
    You're not wrong there, she reads EG...

    Edit - thanks kangarootoo!
    Edited by 1 at 04/03/10 @ 15:08

  • Caimbeul #53 2 years ago

    I dont condone piracy but they dont do themselves any favours. These kind of anti-customer DRM measure only serve to "justify" the actions of the pirates (in their eyes) and p!ss off loyal customers and punish those with no or poor internet connections.

    I for one was actuallt thinking of buying this game. The fact that I am forced to have an internet connection throughout is just stupid and I will not buy it now. Nor will I buy the console version.

  • X3Entente #54 2 years ago

    if ubisoft retrospectively add this horrible DRM on the ubi games i have on steam i will commit a systematic campaign of terror, firebombing and assassinations against their CEO and board of directors
    Edited by 2 at 04/03/10 @ 15:36

  • MiniAmin #55 2 years ago

    This has been unique. Who knew such mirth would spring from a story about Ubisoft's DRM eh?

    Oh and congrats bad09 :)

  • TeaFiend #56 2 years ago

    She reads EG? Does she know your login?

  • Eraysor #57 2 years ago

    All I'm thinking now is I wish Ubisoft had never bought the rights to World in Conflict, because I never want to put up with this joke when WiC 2 finally appears.

  • bad09 #58 2 years ago

    @ MiniAmin
    cheers!

    @ TeaFiend
    Yeah she reads EG, she's a gamer and she also finds reading all our ramblings a giggle. She even set up her username as Mrs bad09 (my name for her on here) as a joke.

  • andijames #59 2 years ago

    @kangarootoo

    I take your point on that yeah that's fair enough i guess the general consensus is the crowd on apple are slightly older than gamers but still i guess that strengthens the view that Ubisoft are being extremely overly presumptious that everyone who buys their games (age from, what, 10+) has an internet connection. If the parents don't have a connection then the child is unlikely to have one under his/her name :) In that respect you would expect Apple (who do have an older demographic) to be going down this route in this case as more likely these customers would have internet connections.

    Personally i think this could go on all day but it's very presumptious from Ubisoft and they're alienating the people they truely want to retain. The honest gamers who support developers and actually go out there and buy a copy. The Jack Sparrows of this world are sailing off into the sunset again with a working, DRM free copy!

    Edit: PC correction.
    Edited by 1 at 04/03/10 @ 16:04

  • jonbwfc #60 2 years ago

    @Caimbeul

    Sadly, the fact people pirate these games - and will continue to do so regardless of the form of DRM employed - is what people like Ubi use to justify having the DRM in the first place. Both sides are using the wrongs of the other side to justify doing things which objectively are not excusable. And while I find the comparison with Apple's software sales interesting, I think it would be naive to suggest that the same model would work in the gaming space. I don't think Apple would survive if all they did was sell software using that model.

    I also don't really buy the 'I can play it on my laptop on the train' excuse to be honest. Firstly, these days mobile connectivity - whether via 3G dongles or phone tethering - is increasingly common. I have a laptop, I travel on trains and I certainly will be connected while I do so. Fairly soon we will have trains with wifi and/or decent wideband comms as standard on laptops. I think however it's a much more ethically justifiable excuse than "I can get it for free and I'm cheap and/or lazy".

    The one thing we can be sure of is this - the fact ACII is cracked will ensure that the next level of DRM will be more absurd and that it will also be cracked and so on and so forth. Installing pirated ACII 'as a protest' about DRM isn't productive at all.

    Jon

  • Alterego-X #61 2 years ago

    After Ubisoft goes bankrupt, only pirates will be able to run AssCreed II, LOL

  • TeaFiend #62 2 years ago

    @bad09:

    What an awesome turn of events. I think. I am pretty sure it is?

  • AOFanboi #63 2 years ago

    It's a sad day when "the game exits to menu if you lose your internet connection for a minute or two" is considered a feature and not a bug.

    - Hey, your game crashed!
    - Well, you probably pirated it, you filthy pirate!

  • Skurmedel #64 2 years ago

    jonbwfc: Not everyone that complains about this is going to pirate it. And for the record, I'm on mobile broadband all the time when at home. It's not exactly a rock solid experience. The weather pretty much dictates my connection speed. If you sit on the train playing this, your game is going to drop out on you as soon as you hit a tunnel.

    Why sit and be worried that your game might die on you when there is a lot of other games that you can play without having to worry about the weather and whatnot.

  • Aradiel #65 2 years ago

    Most of my gaming time is spent behind a firewall that would probably block these games from running.

    No, I will not pirate them, but I won't buy them either.

  • smelly #66 2 years ago

    imho - Ubisoft isnt the enemy here.. pirates are.

    if it wasnt for the pirates and cheats these things wouldnt be needed.

  • Lamb #67 2 years ago

    Ubi and all the game companies need to UNDERSTAND that having games tied to their companies servers only affects LEGITIMATE owners.

  • Red-Moose #68 2 years ago

    it's not complete because neither was the retail game. The pirates will also be missing 3 chapters.

  • callum9999 #69 2 years ago

    smelly - they are both at fault. DRM in general is completely pointless once you have a single pirated copy - everyone can just get their copies from that one (which is why I've never understood the logic in DRM on music etc.).

    While I'm sure this new DRM will be more successful (but not completely), it ruins the game for millions of non-pirates in the process which is just ridiculous.

  • kangarootoo #70 2 years ago

    I'm not sure why smelly was neg'd down so heavily.


    "if it wasnt for the pirates and cheats these things wouldnt be needed"

    ... is 100% bullet proof truth. Pirates are the reason that Ubi and other publishers stumble around in the dark on this one. They might well dick up their DRM solutions all over the shop, but there quite simply and plainly wouldn't be the NEED for them to fart about in the way they do if it wasn't for pirates nicking their games. Fact.
    Edited by 1 at 05/03/10 @ 10:58

  • KillerMonkey #71 2 years ago

    @kangarootoo

    I don't think anyone is denying that, kangarootoo. The problem is in the way the publishers are handling it so badly.

  • kangarootoo #72 2 years ago

    @KillerMonkey

    I agree completely that many publishers are handling it badly. But all smelly said (I can't believe I'm sticking up for him... this is a first) is "its the pirate's fault really,more than anyone elses", and he was buried in negative votes.

    Whenever this subject comes up, there seems to be this wave of "them and us" attitude, that views the publishers as villains just because they want to stop people pinching their wares. There are perhaps a few parties we can point the finger at and say "this is your fault", but really, at the very top of the list are people that pirate games. THEY bear the greatest responsibility, as if it were not for their actions, there would BE no DRM solutions, clumsy or otherwise.

  • KillerMonkey #73 2 years ago

    Perhaps it's the pirate's fault that publishers started using DRM, but I don't think they are responsible for the horrible DRM schemes out today. The responsibility of that lies with the publishers only. They are responsible for the product they put out and it is inexcusable they make paying customers suffer through so much bullshit the pirates don't get. The pirates are not responsible for someone else's actions. The pirates are responsible for pirating, nothing else.

  • kangarootoo #74 2 years ago

    "The responsibility of that lies with the publishers only"

    "The pirates are not responsible for someone else's actions. The pirates are responsible for pirating, nothing else"

    This is oversimplifying the situation. We can state dramatically that pirates don't control anyone elses actions, and we can talk as if piracy and DRM are unconnected, but the truth of the matter is that if pirates didn't pinch software publishers wouldn't make DRM solutions.

    Publishers might be doing a bad job of protecting their products, but I say again that their efforts would NOT be a reality if pirates didn't nick their stuff.

    The CHOICE of how to tackle piracy might lie solely with the publisher, but is bizarre to suggest the RESPONSIBILITY for the end result does not lie in part (if not mostly) on the shoulders of the pirates that caused the situation in the first place.

    Piracy and DRM are joined at the hip, one leads to another, so saying "The pirates are responsible for pirating, nothing else" is disingenous. It is attempting the dodge the issue with faux principles and word play.

  • KillerMonkey #75 2 years ago

    "This is oversimplifying the situation. We can state dramatically that pirates don't control anyone elses actions, and we can talk as if piracy and DRM are unconnected, but the truth of the matter is that if pirates didn't pinch software publishers wouldn't make DRM solutions."
    I agree with the truth of the matter.

    "Publishers might be doing a bad job of protecting their products, but I say again that their efforts would NOT be a reality if pirates didn't nick their stuff."
    I agree with this as well.

    "The CHOICE of how to tackle piracy might lie solely with the publisher, but is bizarre to suggest the RESPONSIBILITY for the end result does not lie in part (if not mostly) on the shoulders of the pirates that caused the situation in the first place."
    This is where our opinions differ. I do not think pirates are responsible for the awful DRM schemes. They did cause the situation that led to it, yes. But it was the choice of the publisher to handle it like this. The publisher is responsible for the end result. I think it is bizarre to suggest that the responsibility of a product lies with those who steal/pirate the product.

    "Piracy and DRM are joined at the hip, one leads to another, so saying "The pirates are responsible for pirating, nothing else" is disingenous. It is attempting the dodge the issue with faux principles and word play."
    I am not incinsere or using principles I do not stand behind. I really do not think they are responsible for this situation.

  • kangarootoo #76 2 years ago

    @KillerMonkey

    I think we agree about the core of it all, but disagree on the semantics maybe.

    I tend to feel that publishers of PC games are in a bad place right now. They NEED to find a way to protect their products against growing piracy, but there really is very little they can do. The DRM solutions that many have tried are indeed poor, but their only other option in many cases is to simply lose sales. If DRM makes NO difference to sales then it is indeed pointless, but I suspect that it makes SOME difference, even if that difference is small.

    A publisher faced with the decision to apply bad DRM or just suffer declining sales is truly faced perhaps with the choice between applying bad DRM or pulling out of PC game publishing. I'm pretty sure nobody wants that to happen, even game pirates. And this "nobhead publishers with their terrible DRM" talk is often coming from PC gamers who will indeed be gutted when yet another PC publisher drops the baton and walks away.

    I completely agree that you publishers have a choice as to whether to implement DRM or not, but they are in a situation that is NOT of their choosing. Piracy is tieing their hands, so to speak. They are dealing with it in the best way they can. I gurantee you not ONE publisher takes the DRM decision lightly and certainly none of them are happy to put solutions in place that piss off customers (there does seem to be this attitude sometimes that publishers do this shit just to annoy us).

    I fully expect we will see more publishers annouce an end to their PC game releases (as we have seen recently). When that happens, regardless of what we think of the publishers' previous DRM efforts, the people we will have to blame for their departure will be the pirates alone.

    P.s. That faux principles stuff was a bit cheeky of me. Sorry about that.
    Edited by 1 at 05/03/10 @ 14:06

  • KillerMonkey #77 2 years ago

    I think you might be right in that we agree with eachother (at least mostly).

    It's a difficult issue of course. I don't know if there have been any studies about it, but I think the DRM isn't helping them sell more games at all. I think most pirates won't start buying games all of sudden, even if the DRM would work. And the paying customers only get turned off by the things they have to deal with. Of course, this is just speculation (and generalisation) on my part.

    I know I would be pretty pissed at Ubisoft if my AC2 game would suddenly stop working if my internet connection dropped.
    I would refuse to support such a company and never buy another game from them again. Maybe I'd even turn to piracy to actually improve the gaming experience.

    Anyway, thanks for this small civil discussion.

  • Timbercottage #78 2 years ago

    You're never going to make a DRM which is hack proof, so why bother chucking loads of money at trying? Then come up with this, which is just annoying everyone? I can't buy the PC version now for fear of my internet dropping out beyond my control!