It ‘s been reported that Ubisoft’s much-vaunted, “always online” DRM has been cracked within a single day. The reports state that the cracked exe has been circulating on torrent sites and sites such as Rapidshare, with the only provision being that those who use the crack should not install the Ubisoft launcher or let the game connect to the internet.

Many sites are reporting that it’s been already cracked, but then there’s a lot saying it hasn’t been cracked properly - You can’t play the cracked version with any online activity and a lot of the features are missing in the single player mode. 

An earlier report:

techdirt: Ubisoft's Annoying New DRM Cracked Within Hours Of Release - Mar 4th 2010
We recently wrote about Ubisoft's annoying new DRM that requires you to be online to play even as a single player game (and which will stop your game even if your WiFi connection flakes out). Many people responded by saying that while they would have bought the game otherwise, now they would just wait for a DRM-free cracked version to show up. Turns out they didn't have to wait long. The DRM was cracked within hours. So again, we're left wondering what good this did? Those who were going to get an unauthorized copy of the game no matter what still did so with no trouble. The only people who are put out are the legitimate buyers, who now have to hope their connection always works and can't play while away from the internet. How does that help anyone?

Ubisoft has been reported saying that it hasn’t been cracked:

TorrentFreak: Ubisoft’s Uber DRM Cracked Within a Day - March 04, 2010
Silent Hunter 5 was released on Tuesday and just a few hours later a cracked version of the game was published on many file-sharing sites. Ubisoft, worrying that DRM-haters would download the game illegally, quickly responded to the news about the cracked DRM and released a statement in which they downplay ‘the issue’.

“You have probably seen rumors on the web that Assassin’s Creed II and Silent Hunter 5 have been cracked. Please know that this rumor 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,” Ubisoft quickly responded.

Rock, Paper Shotgun: Unsilent Hunter: UbiDRM Not Sunk After All? - March 5th, 2010
Here’s Ubisoft’s statement:

“You have probably seen rumors on the web that Assassin’s Creed II and Silent Hunter 5 have been cracked. Please know that this rumor 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.”

Fudzilla: Ubisoft's DRM cracked in minutes - 05 March 2010
Ubusoft denied it. In a statement it said that while a pirated version may seem to be complete at start up, any gamer who downloads and plays a cracked version will find that the version is not complete.

Also, Ubisoft’s put out a patch (v1.0.1) for Assassin’s Creed 2 that allows the legit gamers to continued playing from the exact same point (once the connection is restored) after losing internet connection during gameplay among a few other fixes.

Is this Ubisoft's way of saying "We're listening to the legit gamers!" or just a ploy to keep gamers quiet for awhile? I’ll leave it up to you to decide.

For some extensive reading, visit the thread where we’re discussing it on our forum The-Prism

Regards,

Lisa Arnold

On behalf of Reclaim Your Game (RYG) / the-Prism / Project-RYG

RYG was recently contacted by a freelance journalist ‘Alex Wawro’, asking us if we'd answer a few questions for an article he was writing for GamePro (which would be published this Friday 26th Feb).

Well, it’s been published early! Analysis: Digital Rights Management in PC gaming

A controversial Assassin's Creed II digital rights management (DRM) measure has PC gamers in a rage over anti-piracy measures that punish the gamer more than they prevent piracy. GamePro investigates DRM and asks publishers and pirates what works, what needs work, and how creators can protect their IP without pissing off paying customers.

That’s exactly what RYG (through Project RYG) is doing right now, by playing a big part in that solution and doing our independent DRM/Game testing. We are already working closely with ByteShield who has received our Gold Seal of Approval for End-User Friendliness on ByteShield’s versions 2.2 and previous versions. StarForce is another DRM company, which is working with us. They are putting a lot of effort into becoming End-User Friendly and are very close according to our latest testing results.

It’s been a great pleasure to work with both of those companies and RYG looks forward to continuing our work with them. We also look forward to working with other DRM vendors, Publishers and Developers in the future.

Quote:

"Effective DRM demands consumer activism and community standards for what is acceptable," says Rosenblatt. "We need organizations like Reclaim Your Game to publicly endorse consumer-friendly DRM strategies and the games that include them."

Reclaim Your Game (RYG) is a consumer advocacy group formed in the wake of EA's announcement that the original Mass Effect would require online verification every ten days. The group has quickly become the premiere DRM testing community and works with DRM vendors like StarForce and ByteShield to evaluate various copy protection schemes.

"The plan right now is to continue to provide clear and precise updates on DRM and DRM systems provided within the gaming industry," RYG representative Ulysses Mockett tells GamePro. "We believe in the need for the industry to provide fair and end-user friendly DRM schemes which strikes a balance between protecting [publisher's] games and providing gamers with a stress-free and enjoyable experience, and we invite Ubisoft to have their product independently evaluated by RYG."

The DRM debate has always been a tug of war between consumers and creators, so perhaps the solution is to put a neutral third party in the middle. While RYG is strictly a volunteer endeavor, there's nothing stopping a non-profit DRM rating board from informing consumers about their buying decisions.

"It's a smart idea, and I hope game companies listen," ManCat says after hearing about RYG from GamePro. "I like buying games to play with friends and earn Achievements, so I only download cracked versions of single-player games with ridiculous DRM. The sooner they [game publishers] start respecting their fans, the sooner I'll pay for Assassin's Creed II.”

I can’t thank Alex Wawro enough for contacting us and writing such a great article, while also including us (RYG) in the process. Thank you!

Regards,

Lisa Arnold
On behalf of the staff at RYG / Prism / Project-RYG