Uplay

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Uplay

Uplay logo
Basic data

developer Ubisoft
Publishing year 3rd July 2012
Current  version 28.0.0.5098 (PC, February 9, 2017)
operating system Microsoft Windows , OS X , PlayStation 3 , PlayStation 4 , Xbox 360 , Xbox One , Wii U , iOS , Android , Facebook platform
category Sales platform
License Proprietary / Freeware
uplay.ubi.com

Uplay is an Internet distribution platform for computer games and software that is developed and operated by Ubisoft .

Functions

With the release of Assassin's Creed II in 2009, Ubisoft launched the Uplay network. Uplay allows you to connect with other players and get rewards when certain achievements, so-called "actions", are fulfilled.

Every Uplay-activated game has at least four specific actions that can be fulfilled. The player receives Uplay units for completing these actions. Each action rewards the player with 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 or 40 units, which can be used to unlock game rewards. The units are not tied to a specific game. It is therefore possible to spend the units that have been developed in a certain game for rewards in another game.

Uplay +

At the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2019, Ubisoft presented the paid monthly game subscription Uplay + . Subscribers can access over 100 games for € 14.99 a month. All titles should also be playable with the Google Stadia cloud gaming service . In contrast to Electronic Arts Origin Access , which in addition to Electronic Arts also includes other game publishers, Uplay + will only offer Ubisoft games and no cheaper basic version. The service will start on September 3, 2019 with a free test phase that runs until the end of the month.

DRM

The Windows version of Uplay initially required a permanent internet connection in order to play Uplay-enabled games. Games would not start and stop without an active internet connection if the internet connection was lost. Depending on the game, you were reset to your last save point or the game was saved at the current position. Some games, such as Assassin's Creed II , were later updated to save the exact position of the player before an internet interruption. It was possible to continue playing at this position as soon as the internet connection was restored. This behavior quickly came under fire when the games Silent Hunter 5 and Assassin's Creed II were unplayable for a few days after a DOS attack on the Ubisoft DRM server .

At the end of 2010, the online requirement was initially lifted and only a validation was required when the game started. With the games Driver: San Francisco and From Dust released in 2011, online compulsory for these games was reintroduced. From Dust later received a patch that removed the online requirement.

In September 2012, Ubisoft employees confirmed in an interview that future games would no longer be compulsory online, but would only be activated during game installation.

The PC version of Watch Dogs also requires Uplay if it is purchased via the competing platform Steam . The trade press criticizes this form of exaggerated vendor lock-in as not being customer-friendly.

Uplay games

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Good Owen: Ubisoft: All Our Games Will Do This UPlay Thing. Kotaku , November 14, 2009; accessed September 26, 2010 .
  2. ↑ heise online: Uplay Plus: Ubisoft also wants to offer its games by subscription. Retrieved June 11, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Ubisoft announces Uplay Plus: All games for 15 euros a month. June 10, 2019, accessed June 11, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Uplay +. Retrieved June 11, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Ben Kuchera: Official explanation of controversial Assassin's Creed 2 DRM. Ars Technica , February 18, 2010, accessed July 16, 2016 .
  6. ↑ Ubisoft Patch Makes its Internet DRM Less Painful. Tomshardware.com, March 5, 2010, accessed August 24, 2010 .
  7. ^ Ubisoft's New DRM System Falls Down, Locks Out Paying Customers. Kotaku , March 8, 2010, accessed June 17, 2013 .
  8. ↑ Constant net connection no longer required for Ubisoft games. PC Gamer , December 31, 2010, accessed June 17, 2013 .
  9. ↑ Ubisoft's Driver: SanFran Has Always-On DRM. Rock, Paper, Shotgun , July 27, 2011, accessed July 16, 2016 .
  10. ↑ From Dust DOES Need Online, Badly Ported. Rock, Paper, Shotgun , August 18, 2011, accessed June 17, 2013 .
  11. ↑ Ben Gilbert: PSA: From Dust patch now available on PC, removes Ubi DRM. (No longer available online.) Joystiq September 9, 2011, archived from the original on March 27, 2013 ; accessed on July 16, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.joystiq.com
  12. ↑ John Walker: Interview: Ubisoft On DRM, Piracy And PC Games. Rock, Paper, Shotgun, September 5, 2012, accessed July 16, 2016 .
  13. ↑ GameStar : Watch Dogs - PC version requires Uplay
Internet distribution platforms for computer games


Personal computer

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Game console

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Mobile devices

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