Ubisoft Offers Free Goodies as Compensation for PC DRM Downtime

Ubisoft is offering goodies including free games and downloadable content to gamers affected by the denial of service attack against its DRM authentication servers which left many unable to play Silent Hunter 5 or Assassin's Creed 2 on PC, Kotaku reports.

Some gamers are being offered a choice of Prince of Persia, Tom Clancy's HAWX, Tom Clancy's EndWar or Heroes Over Europe for free, while others are receiving the three Assassin's Creed 2 bonus quests previously exclusive to its Special Edition. Kotaku speculates that the peace offering is different for those who already own the SE.

Ubisoft's controversial new DRM solution requires players to authenticate with Ubisoft's DRM servers and be online at all times, pausing their game should they go offline. The DoS attacks overwhelmed the authentication servers, leaving many unable to play.

The DRM is now used in Silent Hunter 5, Assassin's Creed 2 and The Settlers 7. According to Ubisoft, it has yet to be properly cracked.