Rumor: Ubisoft's New DRM Scheme Already Torpedoed By Pirates

Publisher Ubisoft's latest attempt to curb piracy of its PC games, making its debut appearance in submarine sim Silent Hunter 5, has allegedly been cracked by "sceners" the day after its release.

Ubi's new anti-piracy measure, which will also be employed in the upcoming PC version of Assassin's Creed II, requires that users maintain a constant internet connection in order to play their games. There is no "off-line" option, according to Ubisoft's official FAQ on the new DRM method, resulting in an experience that sounds less than pleasant. Ubisoft later attempted to clarify how its DRM implementation works.

In the case of Silent Hunter 5, which was released for Windows PCs yesterday, the team of crackers responsible claim that those who download the pirated version, currently making the rounds on torrent trackers and sites like Rapidshare, need only "Install game and copy crack, it's that simple!"

Their simple warning to those pirating the cracked version? "Don't install/use Ubisoft launcher, or simply block any connection to internet." Yep. Pretty much the opposite for those who own a legitimate copy of the game.

We've not attempted to download or install the supposed cracked version of Silent Hunter 5—nor do we intend to—so we can't verify the cracking groups claims. We have reached out to Ubisoft for comment.

Thanks to John and Owen for the heads up.