Ubisoft Games Unplayable During Server Switch

Upcoming server maintence will disable access to games like Assassin's Creed and Might & Magic Heroes VI.

Starting on February 7th, a multitude of Ubisoft's websites, services, and games for the PC and Mac will be unavailable, thanks to an upcoming move of Ubisoft's gaming servers.

Titles affected by the server swap include Might & Magic Heroes VI, Settlers 7 and Tom Clancy's HAWX 2 for the PC, along with Assassin's Creed and Splinter Cell: Conviction for the Mac.

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Currently, Ubisoft hasn't confirmed exactly how long the server switch would last and when gamers can expect to have Ubisoft's services back up and running. The server switch does paint a fairly grim picture of what would happen to many gamers in the event Ubisoft itself ever goes dark, and points out a serious flaw in Ubisoft's chosen method of digital rights management.

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As outlined on the publisher's website, the process will begin on February 7. There's no estimate given for how long this will take which is problematic because not only will Uplay be unavailable, but a handful of PC and Mac games will also be impacted. That impact goes beyond online multiplayer; a number of games will not be playable online or offline for the duration of the transition. You didn't read that wrong: you will not be able to play a game you own offline because of a server transition.

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This time around no one will be able to play the affected games. That is, no one except for those with pirated copies, the very same people these DRM schemes are meant to block from playing games they have not legally acquired. It's not unlike the Anno 2070 situation discovered last month where the game's limited number of installations were tied to individual component changes, meaning that popping in a new video card would eat up an install. While pirates could not access the game's online-connected features, they could play the offline component without having to worry about hardware changes necessitating a call to Ubisoft to request more installations.

As much as I personally enjoying owning digital versions of PC games through Steam, it's situations like this that make me understand why some people are hesitant to forgo physical media. Of course, it doesn't make a difference in this case as the games mentioned above will be unplayable whether you own a physical or digital copy -- again, unless you're a pirate.