Ubisoft's Internet-required DRM Already Cracked

Last month, we found out about a new Ubisoft DRM scheme that requires PC gamers to be constantly connected to the Internet in order to play an authenticated game. With the highly anticipated Assassin's Creed II and Settlers VII being some of those titles protected under the new scheme, gamers voiced their concerns over such restrictive and potentially inconvenient DRM.

Of course, it'd be naïve to believe that pirates won't be doing their best in order to circumvent this protection. One of Ubisoft's first titles to use this new scheme, Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic, released earlier this week – and it didn't take much time for pirates to crack the DRM.

In the release notes for the pirated version of Silent Hunter 5, the hackers instruct not to use the Ubisoft launcher or to block any connection to the Internet, and then use some modified files to run the game. At the end of the note, the hackers also urge gamers to support the companies that make the software they enjoy.

We cannot verify whether or not the cracked files effectively bypass Ubisoft's copy protection schemes, but it's clear that the pirates are tinkering with it.