• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
Gameranx

Gameranx

Video Game News, Lists & Guides

  • News
  • Features
  • Platforms
    • Xbox Series X
    • PS5
    • Nintendo
  • Videos
  • Upcoming Games
  • Guides

Ubisoft DRM Monitors Computer Hardware, Breaks When You Change Graphics Cards

January 16, 2012 by Ian Miles Cheong

Ubisoft’s notoriously terrible DRM has an even worse feature: it’ll break if you try to swap out a piece of hardware in your computer.

drm

Ubisoft has been annoying PC gamers with its DRM for quite awhile now. PC gamers will find more reason to sulk about the company's attitude upon the discovery that Ubisoft's limited activation scheme is not only machine specific, but also hardware specific. Specifically, the DRM will know if you've replaced a graphics card.

A game like Ubisoft's Anno 2070 will not run if and when you swap out a graphics card. For gamers who regularly update their systems, such an action can render every game in their Ubisoft library worthless. Guru3D discovered this DRM 'feature' while they were trying to run a benchmark on the aforementioned game.

According to the website, the game simply stopped working when they swapped out the card. Attempts to reinstall the game and reactivate it were met with failure, as the DRM had assumed—wrongly—that the copy-protection was tampered with.

The company's insistence on implementing heavy-handed DRM into its games has earned it a formidable amount of ire from the PC gaming community, especially since the games it releases on Steam already come with their own copy-protection, courtesy of Valve.

Share this post:

FacebookTwitterLinkedInPinterest

Recent Videos

CRIMSON DESERT CHANGING ITS STORY? XBOX COMEBACK PLAN & MORE

CRIMSON DESERT CHANGING ITS STORY? XBOX COMEBACK PLAN & MORE

10 BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS from Summer Game Fest

10 BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS from Summer Game Fest

10 Games That REWARD You For Being CRAZY

10 Games That REWARD You For Being CRAZY

10 Most IMPROVED Games of 2026 That Play Different

10 Most IMPROVED Games of 2026 That Play Different

Gothic 1 Remake - Before You Buy

Gothic 1 Remake - Before You Buy

10 BRAND NEW Games of XBOX GAMES SHOWCASE 2026

10 BRAND NEW Games of XBOX GAMES SHOWCASE 2026

10 GOTY Games That ARE STILL WORTH PLAYING

10 GOTY Games That ARE STILL WORTH PLAYING

10 BIGGEST REVEALS of Summer Game Fest 2026

10 BIGGEST REVEALS of Summer Game Fest 2026

CDPROJEKT RED NEW OPEN WORLD GAME, PS5 EXCLUSIVE SALES CRASHING? & MORE

CDPROJEKT RED NEW OPEN WORLD GAME, PS5 EXCLUSIVE SALES CRASHING? & MORE

Category: Updates

Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Demand For Xbox Series X|S Worldwide Exceeds Supply – And Memory Is A Huge Reason Why
  • ESRB Rating For The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered Adds Nintendo Switch 2
  • Toys for Bob Credits Spyro Fans For Spyro: A Realm Beyond Coming To Existence
  • gen ATLAS Dev Fumito Ueda Is Sad Bluepoint Games Can No Longer Remake Ico With Him
  • Niantic Spatial Explains Why They Did Not And Cannot Sell Pokemon Go Data For Military Use

Copyright © 2026 · Gameranx · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Mai Theme