Ubi looks to net piracy solution

In a move to try and quell the ongoing piracy problem on PC, Ubisoft will require players of a selection of its future PC titles to have a constant connection to the internet.

Titles will constantly verify themselves via a connection to Ubisoft’s servers. To spruce up the offering Ubisoft will also introduce a feature that uploads player’s game setting, making their personal data portable across multiple PCs.

Another pay-off for this new technical requirement is that users will have more freedom with their purchases and will not be limited to a set number of installs. The games will also no longer need the original disc in the drive to play.

Ubisoft isn’t the only publisher to be pursuing this route, with upcoming titles from EA and Activision looking at implementing similar protection methods.

The decision distances Ubisoft from sometimes controversial third party digital rights management (DRM) tools.

Though some publishers have stuck up for solutions such as SecuROM, the scale of consumer concern about such software has seen others back away from the technology altogether.