History CopyProtection / Ubisoft

** In a bid to try to improve the image of the anti-piracy system, Ubisoft played FollowTheLeader and turned uPlay (since rebranded Ubisoft Connect) into a full game client with built in store ala UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}, Origin, [[Creator/EpicGames Epic Games]] [[UsefulNotes/EpicGamesStore Store]] and [[Creator/ActivisionBlizzard Battle.net]]. However, the fact that it's more draconian towards mods compared to the defacto winner, Steam, and also the fact that it requires administrator access to even run and wouldn't run half of the time without said access, doesn't sit well with the more security conscious gamers.

* Ubisoft tried to guard against the first ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'' being leaked by deliberately introducing a performance-degrading bug into the code, to be removed only when the game was sent to be mass-produced. Unfortunately, they didn't actually tell anyone, so when the bugged version was inevitably leaked, it considerably hurt their sales because the pirates spread through word of mouth to potential legitimate buyers that the game had [[PortingDisaster terrible performance even on high-end computers.]]

** In a bid to try to improve the image of the anti-piracy system, Ubisoft played FollowTheLeader and turned uPlay (since rebranded Ubisoft Connect) into a full game client with built in store ala UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}, Origin, [[Creator/EpicGames Epic Games Store]] and [[Creator/ActivisionBlizzard Battle.net]]. However, the fact that it's more draconian towards mods compared to the defacto winner, Steam, and also the fact that it requires administrator access to even run and wouldn't run half of the time without said access, doesn't sit well with the more security conscious gamers.

* Ubisoft's [=uPlay=] caused a lot of controversy. ''A lot''. It requires you to remain online during play, and if even a slightest connectivity hitch occurs, ''you're booted from your game and lose any unsaved progress''. ''Assassin's Creed 2'', ''Splinter Cell Conviction'', and ''Silent Hunter V''[[note]]Later removed on this one[[/note]] have since had the always-online requirement removed; the games must now "only" access the Internet each time they start up. And how it fares towards the legit customers? [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/98927-Ubisoft-DRM-Authentication-Servers-Go-Down The servers used for this scheme went down not even a week after release,]] making the games ''unplayable at all'' for these poor souls. Ubisoft had better prepare a barbecue if they still insist on carrying this scheme from every single of their PC releases from now on.
** In a bid to try to improve the image of the anti-piracy system, Ubisoft played FollowTheLeader and turned [=uPlay=] (since rebranded Ubisoft Connect) into a full game client with built in store ala Steam, Origin and Battle.net. However, the fact that it's more draconian towards mods compared to the defacto winner, Steam, and also the fact that it requires administrator access to even run and wouldn't run half of the time without said access, doesn't sit well with the more security conscious gamers.

** In a bid to try to improve the image of the anti-piracy system, Ubisoft played FollowTheLeader and turned [=uPlay=] into a full game client with built in store ala Steam, Origin and Battle.net. However, the fact that it's more draconian towards mods compared to the defacto winner, Steam, and also the fact that it requires administrator access to even run and wouldn't run half of the time without said access, doesn't sit well with the more security conscious gamers.

* The initial PC retail release of ''VideoGame/SplinterCell: Chaos Theory'' used the draconian [=StarForce=] DRM mentioned on the main page, which is also incompatible with 64-bit Windows versions. Fortunately, it was dropped in the later Encore edition and downloadable releases.

* The Uplay DRM (rebranded Ubisoft Connect in 2020) was extremely restrictive and despised by players, especially after it was determined that it (no longer as of 2013) covertly installed plug-ins for your browser without informing you... and that those plug-ins opened a security hole on the installed system! This, and controversial comments regarding PC piracy rates, resulted in Ubi reducing their DRM to its lowest levels in years. Now Uplay is as harmless as Steam or Origin (although more annoying since it requires administrator access to even run reliably. In contrast, no other launcher or game store asks for admin credentials on launch, only when installing a new game), but then...

* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOrigins'' is perhaps the zenith of Ubisoft's paranoia. The game ships with no less than ''three''' copy-protection solutions stacked atop one another: the controversial-but-beloved-by-AAA-developers Denuvo Anti-Tamper, the despised [=VMProtect=] (which has been used to obfuscate ''malware''), and of course, [=UPlay=]. Makes you wonder if the CEO also sleeps with the only tape backup containing the source code of the game in the same room surrounded by booby-traps and a rifle by his side. Since then it has became standard for all new Ubisoft games. And then it, along with all Ubisoft games using the same method, got cracked anyway, rendering Ubisoft's attempts useless and making legitimate PC buyers shake their heads.

* Additionally, in ''VideoGame/AssassinCreedII,'' the DRM was very poorly implemented. People who pirated the game (when it was hacked a month-and-a-half after release) reported that it had an excellent porting job and ran as well as one would expect it to on any given level of hardware. People who bought it often reported that the game's performance was dodgy at best, with inexplicable drops at random times in frames per second.

* All the fans of ''VideoGame/IL2Sturmovik'' series also got screwed over after purchasing a legit copy of the final ''1946'' collection of the game -- which is heavily protected by SECUROM. Trying to uninstall and reinstall the game for whatever logical reason (including the need to change damaged hardware) will cause the antipirate malware SECUROM to block the game from launching. Fortunately, there are already several easy methods on how to bypass the original install (by making your own copy) and then uninstall it along with SECUROM. '''Fun fact :''' The reason your hardware could mysteriously become damaged in the first place (if you're a responsible PC user) is because SECUROM's influence will gradually mess it up, which then comes full circle when you have to pay for new hardware [[AbsurdityAscendant and SECUROM will ban you]] ''[[{{Hypocrite}} from installing the game again on said new hardware]]''.
* Ubisoft tried to guard against the first ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreed'' being leaked by deliberately introducing a performance-degrading bug into the code, to be removed only when the game was sent to be mass-produced. Unfortunately, they didn't actually tell anyone, so when the bugged version was inevitably leaked, it considerably hurt their sales because the pirates spread through word of mouth to potential legitimate buyers that the game had [[PortingDisaster terrible performance even on high-end computers.]]
* Additionally, in ''Assassin's Creed 2,'' the DRM was very poorly implemented. People who pirated the game (when it was hacked a month-and-a-half after release) reported that it had an excellent porting job and ran as well as one would expect it to on any given level of hardware. People who bought it often reported that the game's performance was dodgy at best, with inexplicable drops at random times in frames per second.

* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOrigins'' takes Ubisoft's paranoia all the way UpToEleven. The game ships with no less than '''''three''''' copy-protection solutions stacked atop one another: the controversial-but-beloved-by-AAA-developer ''Denuvo Anti-Tamper'', the despised ''[=VMProtect=]'' (which has been used to obfuscate ''malware''), and of course, ''[=UPlay=]''. Makes you wonder if the [[TheParanoiac CEO]] also sleeps with the only tape backup containing the source code of the game in the same room surrounded by booby-traps and a rifle by his side. Since then it became standard for all new Ubisoft games. And then it, along with all Ubisoft games using the same method, got cracked anyway, rendering Ubisoft attempts useless and making legitimate PC buyers shake heads.