Uplay

Uplay is a digital distribution, digital rights management, multiplayer and communications service developed by Ubisoft to provide an experience similar to the achievements/trophies offered by various other game companies. The service is provided across various platforms. Uplay is used exclusively by first-party Ubisoft games, and although some third-party ones are sold through the Uplay store, they do not use the Uplay platform.

Uplay
Uplay logo since June 2018
Uplay PC client in 2016
Developer(s)Ubisoft
Initial release3 July 2012
PlatformWindows NT, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Facebook Platform
TypeContent delivery
Digital rights management
Social networking
Websiteuplay.ubisoft.com

Responses to the platform have been generally negative, with coverage comparing it negatively to its competitors and calling it the worst part of Ubisoft's games.

Features

With the release of Assassin's Creed II in 2009, Ubisoft launched the Uplay network, which is activated either in-game or via the Uplay website.[1] Uplay allows players to connect with other gamers, and to earn rewards based on achievements (called "Actions") in Uplay-enabled games, with Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot stating that "the more you play, the more free goods you will be able to have".[2]

Each Uplay-enabled game has four specific Actions that can be accomplished, earning the player Uplay points, which are referred to as Units. Each Action grants the player either 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 or 40 Units, which can then be used to unlock game-related rewards; though the Units are not bound to the specific games they were earned in, and may be used to purchase rewards from any available game.

Client

The Uplay desktop client was released on 3 July 2012, replacing the Ubisoft Game Launcher. The desktop client connects Uplay's currency and reward features, and links a player's Ubi profile across platforms (consoles, Facebook, PC, and mobile) within a single app.[3] The client is similar to Valve’s Steam and EA’s Origin desktop clients—where the user is able to purchase and launch games from the application.

A single Uplay account is required to access the client, that can be used across platforms (consoles, PC and mobile) and to access Ubisoft’s online sites, and forums. If customers already have a Uplay account, they can use their existing account credentials to log into the Uplay desktop client. Otherwise, they will be asked to create a new account upon their first connection to the client.[4]

Digital rights management

When it was initially launched, the Windows version of Uplay required players to maintain a constant connection to the internet to play Uplay-enabled games. Uplay games would not start without an active internet connection, and losing the connection during gameplay would halt the game, sending users back to their last checkpoint or save depending on the specific game.[5] Some games, such as Assassin's Creed II, were later patched to save the player's exact location prior to disconnect and return them to that location when an internet connection was re-established.[6] The scheme quickly came under fire after a denial-of-service attack on Ubisoft's DRM servers in early March rendered Silent Hunter 5 and Assassin's Creed II unplayable for several days.[7]

The always-on requirement was quietly lifted for existing Uplay games towards the end of 2010, being changed to a single validation on game launch.[8] However, the always-on requirement made a return in 2011 with the releases of Driver: San Francisco[9] and From Dust, the latter having been explicitly stated by Ubisoft prior to release to only require a one-time online activation on install.[10] From Dust was later patched to remove the always-on requirement.[11]

In September 2012 Ubisoft employees confirmed in an interview that no further Ubisoft games would be using the always-on requirement, instead opting for a one-time activation of the game on install. However The Crew, released in 2014, required the player to be always online in order to play.[12]

Certain Ubisoft games required an online pass known as a "Uplay Passport" to access online and multiplayer content. In October 2013, Ubisoft announced that it would discontinue its use of online passes on future games, and made the Uplay Passport for Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag available at no charge effective immediately.[13]

Rootkit allegations

In July 2012 Tavis Ormandy, an Information Security Engineer at Google, claimed that "Uplay" DRM is a rootkit and poses a serious security risk. The software installs a browser plugin that provides access to the system.[14][15] Ormandy has written proof-of-concept code for the exploit. The exploit is believed to have been fixed as of version 2.0.4, released on 30 July 2012.[16][17][18]

Uplay+

Ubisoft revealed its planned subscription service, Uplay+, during E3 2019.[19] The service gives users access to over 100 games in Ubisoft's library, including new releases. Subscribers may have additional benefits, such as being invited into closed betas for some of its upcoming games. Uplay+ launched on September 3, 2019 in beta form, with full expansion in early 2020. The service was offered both through the Uplay store, as will be an option for Stadia users.[20][21][22]

Reception

Uplay's reception with reviewers and the public has been largely negative. John Walker, writing for Rock, Paper, Shotgun, called it a "technical mess" and saying that "it desperately needs to just go away" in the wake of a server collapse around the release of Far Cry 3 that temporarily made the game unplayable.[23] Ars Technica's Kyle Orland says that "Uplay has not exactly endeared itself to the PC gaming community", describing a history of technical errors and problems related to its DRM.[24] Geoffrey Tim, writing for lazygamer.net, called it the "worst thing" about Ubisoft's "otherwise excellent" games, and particularly criticized it for running alongside Steam when Ubisoft games are purchased on that platform.[25] Patrick Klepek, writing for Giant Bomb, criticized the same point, saying that Ubisoft's desire to run its own distribution service offered no real benefit to consumers, and describing the tactics they used to try to get people to use it as irritating and unappealing.[26] Writing a comparison for GadgetReview in which he compared the three major distribution platforms—Uplay, Valve's Steam and Electronic Arts' Origin—Shawn Sanders criticized it for using large amounts of memory while offering fewer features than its competitors.[27] Summarizing popular opinion on the service, VG247's Brenna Hillier said that "Uplay is one of the less popular PC DRM systems, but all your fervent wishing that it would die has not been successful."[28]

gollark: What if my gender is connected to the Internet?
gollark: What if my gender is superintelligent and dislikes humanity?
gollark: What if my gender is conscious?
gollark: What if my gender is uncomputable?
gollark: What if my gender is a byte sequence which immediately crashes your gender processing implementation?

References
  1. "Ubisoft Launches First Uplay Services With Assassin's Creed II". IGN. 18 November 2009. Archived from the original on 22 May 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  2. Good, Owen (14 November 2009). "Ubisoft: All Our Games Will Do This UPlay Thing". Kotaku. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  3. http://kotaku.com/5935427/ubisoft-launches-their-own-pc-gaming-client-and-is-selling-some-games-for-1-to-get-you-to-try-it
  4. http://uplay.ubi.com/en-GB/about/pc
  5. Ben Kuchera (18 February 2010). "Official explanation of controversial Assassin's Creed 2 DRM". ARS Technica. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  6. "Ubisoft Patch Makes its Internet DRM Less Painful". Tomshardware.com. 5 March 2010. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
  7. "Ubisoft's New DRM System Falls Down, Locks Out Paying Customers". Kotaku. 8 March 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  8. "Constant net connection no longer required for Ubisoft games". PC Gamer. 31 December 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  9. "Ubisoft's Driver: SanFran Has Always-On DRM". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. 27 July 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  10. "From Dust DOES Need Online, Badly Ported". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  11. Ben Gilbert (9 September 2011). "PSA: From Dust patch now available on PC, removes Ubi DRM". Joystiq. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  12. "Interview: Ubisoft On DRM, Piracy And PC Games". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. 5 September 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  13. "Ubisoft Kills Online Pass System, Effective Immediately". IGN. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  14. Adrian Kingsley Hughes (30 September 2012). "Uplay is a rootkit". forbes.com. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  15. Alec Meer (30 July 2012). "Warning: Big Security Risk In Some Ubisoft PC Games". rockpapershotgun. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  16. F, Sean. "Ubisoft DRM Contains Rootkit, Update Available To Fix Vulnerability". digital-digest. Digital Digest.
  17. Thomas, Brewster. "Ubisoft Patches Uplay Vulnerability". Silicon. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  18. "[Uplay PC] Patch 2.0.4 - Security fix". Ubisoft Forums. Ubisoft.
  19. Ubisoft Announces Uplay+ Subscription Service for PC - E3 2019 - IGN, retrieved 29 August 2019
  20. Watts, Steve (13 June 2019). "E3 2019: Uplay+ Is Ubisoft Subscription, With New Releases Like Ghost Recon Breakpoint And Watch Dogs Legion". GameSpot. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  21. Tarason, Dominic (16 July 2019). "Ubisoft announce their Uplay+ subscription lineup". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  22. Boudreau, Ian (3 September 2019). "Uplay Plus launches today with access to more than 100 games". PC Gamer. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  23. John Walker (30 November 2012). "Far Cry 3 Servers Down Already: Ubi, This Is A Mess". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  24. Kyle Orland (7 November 2014). "Ubisoft pulls upcoming holiday titles off Steam". Ars Technica. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  25. Geoffrey Tim. "Watch Dogs on PC skipping uPlay?". lazygamer.net. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  26. Patrick Klepek (18 November 2014). "Ubisoft's Tactics Are Making uPlay Less Attractive Than Ever". Giant Bomb. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  27. Shawn Sanders (6 November 2013). "Steam Vs. Origin Vs. Uplay (comparison)". gadgetreview.com. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  28. Brenna Hillier (2 July 2014). "Not even a lawsuit could kill Uplay". VG247. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
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