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BioShock 2 PC DRM explained

Infinite installs, limited activations.

Oli Welsh avatar
News by Oli Welsh Former Editor-in-Chief
Updated on
44 comments

2K community manager Elizabeth Tobey has been busy on the label's forums (via VG247), clearing up exactly what form the digital rights protection on the PC version of BioShock 2 is going to take.

BioShock 2 uses the infamous SecuROM DRM system, but as a disc check for boxed copies only. "That is its only use," Tobey said, and following an incorrect posting on Steam clarified that it would set no limit to the number of installations, or the number of computers it can be installed on.

However, the game also uses Microsoft's Games for Windows Live platform, and this, Tobey said, only allows it to be activated 15 times. If you use all those up, you should be able to get the key reset by contacting Microsoft.

"This is a number set by Microsoft. We went with this option because we wanted to go with non-SSA keys, because we felt that was better for you guys all around," she said.

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