From Dust PC won't use 'always online' DRM

While PC edition of From Dust was delayed for a fortnight without explanation, we can at least be thankful that it doesn't have the terrible 'always online' DRM requirement Ubisoft recently resurrected for Driver: San Francisco.

So what is Steam's listing regarding "Ubisoft Online Service" 3rd-party DRM all about?

"From Dust will not require a permanent online connection to play in single-player mode," Ubisoft confirmed to VG247. It'll still use Ubi's own proprietary DRM, but presumably in the more lenient form it rolled out earlier this year. This requires players to be online when launching the game, to authenticate with Ubisoft's servers, but won't pause or kick you back to a checkpoint should happen to go offline.

The publisher's DRM system has made for many disgruntled gamers. However, Ubisoft is happy with the always online requirement. The publisher told PC Gamer today that it has seen "a clear reduction in piracy of our titles which required a persistent online connection, and from that point of view the requirement is a success."

The PC edition is due to arrive on August 17, having previously been slated to launch alongside the Xbox Live Arcade edition yesterday. There's no firm date for the PlayStation Network version yet.