Have Ubisoft officially said anything about it? What is the reason?
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EA is deactivating, Ubisoft reserves the right to delete according to their TOS:.
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normally that it stays and gets deleted after a set time of beeing deactivated.
kinda like when you deactivate your facebook account, after some time they get rid of it
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It means your purchases are gone, and you'll have to purchase them again if you want to play it.
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Looks like if you don't log in for 4 years, they mark the account for deletion. You then have 30 days to respond to the email or log in to reset the 4-year timer
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It's true, and support as confirmed it. though it does seem like a desperate tactic to scare users into using their launcher rather than a rule that their actively enforcing, meaning i don't think every inactive user, more than 6 months, is receiving this message
This isn't new for ubisoft, i just don't know much, as im not considered inactive
I've played Trials and The Crew, probably will return to Crew 2, also being a lab rat for the trash that is Motorfest, that would make me far from an inactive user.
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https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/help/account/article/closure-of-inactive-ubisoft-accounts/000079595
"Closure of inactive Ubisoft accounts
Please be reassured that Ubisoft does not automatically close inactive accounts.
As part of our Terms of Use, in rare instances, we may immediately close inactive accounts to comply with local data protection legislation. This is only if we have strong reasons to believe that the account in question will remain unused.
We may also close long-term inactive accounts to maintain our database. You will be notified by email if we begin the process of closing your inactive account.
If your account was flagged as inactive and you would like to keep using it, you can cancel the closure of your Ubisoft account.
You can find the link for the cancellation in the Ubisoft email that was sent to the email address attached to your account. Please check your spam folder as well if you are unable to locate it."
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by "not automatically" ubisoft means, that they will try to contact you once and when you dont respond by following a link, the account will be terminated
not sure why that would make me feel reassured, but thanks ubi
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Honestly, I don't think this is a big deal. There's really no incentive for Ubisoft to delete the accounts of people that have bought their games because those are their future customers. Maybe I'm wrong, but in that case, this would just promote piracy among people who feel like their games were "stolen" and would justify torrenting Ubisoft games. Sure, Ubisoft doesn't always make great decisions, but this is kind of a no-brainer and would be very shortsighted, even for them.
As for their reasoning, my company does something similar if accounts are unused for ~5 years, so I wouldn't consider this out of the ordinary, especially with GDPR becoming more and more standardized
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as i said above, this was discussed before and little changed. Still appears that ubi is not enforcing, at least not at a full scale. Though some people are reporting receiving messages.
Right now, its more of a scare tactic from desperate executives. But i wouldn't be so sure about the future.
Ubisoft has already done enough not to be trusted, last one was the removal of online service to older games, which ended up removing certain features and paid dlc that required connection even if just to check for validity
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Sorry, what was "discussed before and little changed"?
I agree they aren't a trustworthy company, I was just saying that it's not weird to delete inactive accounts. That being said, I've only used Uplay for a single game, so I'm not a user that would really be affected by this one way or the other
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Sorry, what was "discussed before and little changed"?
i commented on this thread above, that currently, i also believe there is no risk,
this topic was first discussed back in 2021 or so.
the TOS remains purposely bare. It simply states, they have the right to terminate any inactive account (6 months), no justification beyond that, and thats my main issue, is that ubi keeps stating that you shouldn't be worried, yet they did leave a lot of room, to implement this rule.
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Oh okay, I see what you mean. Yeah, I think they are definitely leaving it vague and open-ended to try and cover their ass just in case they need it. We shall see if they ever decide to abuse it, but I can't imagine it would go well for them.
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I personally don't like the use of the word "automatically".
I don't think they'll close inactive accounts with plenty of games in the library, just might delete ones with a few free games and longer inactivity. Although I still find this action unsettling and can't really see a reason behind it.
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One more reason that shows data hoarders were right all along. Why would you make someone lose their stuff they paid for, if when they dont pay for it, they can keep their stuff forever? This is baffling
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I understand why it could be necessary but it should be 10 years, not 6 months
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This kind of stuff is why GOG is the only service I actually like, I use Steam and Epic but I prefer GOG. They allow you to download an offline installer which allows you to install and play the game without any 3rd party service needed and no DRM. So no matter what happens to GOG in the future, you will always have the game you bought ready to be installed and played.
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Time to start reading ToS and not just blindly pressing "Accept" without knowing what you're agreeing to. I wonder how many people on Steam know they don't actually own a single game they paid for?
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That's another issue in dire need of regulation. There are terms and conditions you have to accept to play a game which take longer to read than the 2 hours return window on Steam :p
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Hopefully, we, the consumers, learn something on this day like we did with the privacy and our data being collected. I mean, if we can have certain functions of car keys locked behind a subscription hidden in the ToS, then reading ToS really should be the most important thing before we willingly give our money to any company.
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True. At the same time, however, there should be rules on how to write a proper ToS so that people can see those very important things right at the top, instead of having to scroll through a thousand of lawyer-written lines that most people do not understand.
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Time to take the words in the ToS not only seriously, but literally.
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ToS it's not the law. Also provisions in the ToS that are against the law are not valid.
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ToS is a legally binding contract. It's not meaningless, otherwise, it wouldn't exist. Also, what is against the law in Ubisoft's ToS tho?
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Well that's not good. All the more reason to support GOG I guess.
You can download offline installers for their games at least, instead of what you paid for being held "hostage" by a corporation.
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DRM-free is the most consumer friendly way. But asshole companies can't do DRM-free and they sure know that very well.
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Most Steam games are DRM-free and I wouldn't consider Valve to be some beacon of virtue or anything, although calling them an asshole company might be a bit harsh
Edit reply because thread got closed:
That is definitely not an exhaustive list. You can try it yourself, find a game you have installed right now, and check if it's on the list. If it isn't, copy the files to a folder on your desktop, exit steam, and launch it. I just tried it with a few games in my library and it works fine. Granted, I play mostly single-player games, so my selection is certainly biased, but I would still guess it works ~50% of the time. Lesser known games and especially games without achievements/trading cards are the most likely to be "secretly" DRM-free, but even pretty popular mainstream games can work like this. At a minimum, there are at least more DRM-free games on Steam than GOG.
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So all games we have bought the license for will vanish and it's just like getting scammed? I cant believe we cant reclaim those if that happens.
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Log in once every 6 months? Woe is me!
If you look on the website and their customer care area they literally tell you " Please be reassured that Ubisoft does not automatically close inactive accounts. " and also "You will be notified by email if we begin the process of closing your inactive account."
So this only affects people who pay no attention and don't play games they own for 6+ months.
Bruh
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just what i was going to say people complaining about lost money/games but can't even be bothered to login twice a year - as if that is such a hard thing to do
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You serious? Why would I have to? I didn't play Ubisoft games in years but I own a few dozens of them. Should I lose them just because I didn't log in in 6 months? Every major publisher is pushing their launcher now so should I have to log into every single one of them just so I don't lose access to something I paid for? Dude I have life, 6 months come and go so quick I can't definitely won't be bothered by logging into every launcher I ever used. Especially when there's not a single good reason why would I have to do that.
Jesus christ I can't believe people are still defending the companies even as they are pulling the most anti-consumer policies ever.
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Imagine supporting companies taking away things you bought because you didn't log in enough.
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I don't support Ubi, never will. I actually hope they go bankrupt by 2025. However, to complain about something as little as this is stupid. Complain about always online, launchers etc.
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As little? It means losing all your Ubisoft games. And remember this also includes Ubisoft games you own on Steam. All those people that only use Steam won't log into the Ubisoft client unless they play an Ubisoft game.
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I wasn't aware we live in a world where it's mandatory to play games you "own" every 6months to not get them taken away. I haven't logged into my Origin account for like 5 or 6 years despite having bought games there-was EA supposed to delete something I payed for and "own" ?
Bruh indeed,use your fucking head and don't simp for even less rights for paying customers.
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Some UBI executives thinks that this a is a good idea... well this is more than a shot in their foots
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If they actually close your account and lock you out of the games you have purchased, there needs to be a lawsuit. I would never pay for a game a second time that I already purchased just because my account was inactive for some arbitrary amount of time they decided.
I would still play the games if I wanted to, but I would not pay for them again. This will push more and more people to doing this and it will cause a ripple effect where it becomes more popular. Eventually it will be popular enough where people that never paid for the games will also start getting them from these "other sources". This will be their fault because they are basically forcing their customers to take this route and they will hurt themselves in the long run.
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You do realize you don't own any games you bought on Uplay, on Steam, or Epic? And sorry bud, but you accepted the rules using their platform comes with, which were detailed in the ToS, so no lawsuit would really be possible I think. You willingly accepted their ToS, and the consequences that come with you breaking the rules of using their platform.
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Being inactive is breaking the rules and gives them the right to close your account and take away what you paid for? That sounds outrageous. If that is the case, nobody should pay any of these companies any money and we would need to go back to physical copies.
This honestly doesn't sound correct anyway. I think someone is just not understanding whatever they read. If someone pays $60 for a game and then it gets taken away because you didn't log into your account in 6 months, that would cause outrage and nobody would accept it. This would destroy all digital markets that aren't subscription services.
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You willingly accepted their ToS
That ToS would not stand in court, and one nice class action would teach them for good.
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You willingly accepted their ToS
That part of the ToS can easily be declared as abusive and not be accepted as valid in court.
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IIRC that already was a topic around new year? And I think in the news back then it was suggested that your account is safe is it is linked to another service.
So if you had Ubisoft games on Steam or a Epic they would refrain from deleting your account. Maybe they changed that though.
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How to make sure even less people buy your stuff when you are in financial troubles 😎
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so people love their Ubisoft games/account but don't have the time too login once in 6 months - ok
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I don't love my Ubisoft account and would prefer to not play games there, but I own some games there that I want to play and I will play them eventually. Just because I have a lot of other games to play and don't touch my account for a few years doesn't mean that they should take those games away from me. If I purchase something, I should own it and be able to play it whenever I feel like playing it. I purchased these games to own, not as a temporary subscription service with a promise to remain active or play them within a certain time limit.
I own games on Steam, GOG, Uplay, Epic, and Origin. What if all of these services start doing the same thing? Do I need to bounce around between services on a regular basis to make sure I don't lose all my games?
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its one log in every 4380 hours it's not hard and with digital you don't normally really own anything like what if online servers go down? or they decide to remove an item from the game at best you get a small compensation and worst nothing at all
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The amount of time doesn't matter. If I purchase something, I should own it. If they go completely out of business, then yes, I understand that I could lose what I purchased because it was digital and they supply it, but I don't agree with them just taking purchased things away because they feel like it.
If they are actually taking peoples games away simply because of inactivity, I feel like there will be a class action lawsuit and Ubisoft will lose. Or they will just go out of business when people talk about it because if that is the case, I would never spend a penny on a Ubisoft game and I suspect a lot of other people would feel the same.
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sorry but and not being an ass or anything but if someone can't be othered to login into an account for 6 months it really seems to matter to them- i for gaming anyway really only use Steam - i did claim the free games on Epic to begin with but saw i never even installed one of them so gave up
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That is absolutely baffling to me. I am not talking about free games, I am talking about paying for a product. If someone purchases a game, I don't care if it has been 10 years since they last logged in, they should be able to log back in and play the game.
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If you didn't use a bicycle for 6 months, for 1 year, for 2 years, would it stop being something that belonged to you?
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Ubisoft has about 3 good games and i would like to keep them, i just dont have a reason to play Rayman every 6 months, what else would i login for? to read the news?
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What's with these modern customers that support anti-consumer practices?
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i don't like it but it is once in 6 months what is so hard about logging in once in 6 months - it's not like it's once every 6 hours
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Why should anyone have to log in every 6 months?
There're many reasons for not logging it for 6 months, of for years. 6 months is not even a lot. If you start a career and also have to work, you probably won't have time to game in a lot of time. That doesn't mean you want to lose all your games for when you finish your studies.
You may get some illness that puts you in a hospital for months.
You just got bored of gaming and just want to do other stuff for a few months/years. When you come back you certainly don't want to have lost everything you purchased.
Not everyone lives in his computer to care about login in in every service every few months. Many people only game very sporadically, for whatever reason. That doesn't mean they should lose their games.
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so stop moaning they are taking away something you care about then you love the games so much you don't even play then ever half year
6 months is a decent amount of time i think and yes the ill part might be a reason but the other don't count i mean studies take so much time you don't have 10 minutes in a 6 month period to log in to one website - i mean really?
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so stop moaning they are taking away something you care about then you love the games so much you don't even play then ever half year
What kind of logic is that? Of course everyone have games they love but they haven't played in more than 6 months, or in years. The last game I cared from Ubisoft was Anno 2070. I don't want it removed even if I haven't played it in years. And I have 0 reason to log in because I don't play any other Ubisoft game until I pick up Anno 1800. I don't thing this clause was even there when I purchased Anno 2070.
studies take so much time you don't have 10 minutes in a 6 month period to log in to one website - i mean really?
I see you've never studied a career and also having to work. Yes, that means zero free time, and you're completely exhausted when you get home.
And caring less about something doesn't give anyone the right to remove it from me. It's none of your business why someone may not log into a service for a certain amount of time.
I'm sure there's many things you don't care about them that much. doesn't mean you'll find it ok if someone removes them from you. You haven't used your car in 6 months? You don't care about it, guess it's ok if I take it from you.
And it's not only one website. You're defending it, that means every single store can do it according to you (or only Ubisoft is allowed?). So now you have to log in in every single client. You forgot one? bad luck I guess. This means not only the big ones, remember all those games that also have their separate launchers. If you defend this practice, you defend it for everyone.
People have their lives, not everyone cares so much as you about logging in in every single client that exists.
If you thing loving games is about logging in in every single storefront and launcher, you have some very twisted logic. I love games and I hate clients.
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Once you focus on something, you basically forget anything else. This could be a PhD, hitting gym, breaking up with your significant other, someone you love dies, go on a long trip, anything... Also it's not that hard to not having an internet access for 6 months. This is life.
On the other hand, look at Valve. People find their 15 year old lost account, even without games in it, and it's still there.
No need to defend a shitty corporation here or try to find a logic around what have they done.
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There are some games I really like from Ubisoft and this is why I have an account there. If they do this to my account, then yeah I won't use it ever again. I didn't buy anything from Ubisoft for years but this doesn't give them a reason to delete. They're a shitty publisher, not a shitty developer, mostly at least.
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2-3 year, that OK
but 6 month?? ok that's it, no more buying from them. let's sail the sea
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Thanks for the heads up. Been a while since I logged into mine.
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Where did you get the 6 months from?
I thought it was 4 years of inactivity?
Edit:
https://www.eurogamer.net/ubisoft-is-suspending-inactive-accounts-disabling-access-to-game-libraries#comments
Not that 4 years is great timeframe either.
Life aka shit happens.
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If I own Ubisoft games or steam, does that makes me untouchable or not? Cause I can just create some account when I will t to play, right?
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I thought about that too, that would be nice workaround, either use Epic or Steam to get their games just in case
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Not surprising, Ubisoft is the shittiest game company after Konami, or maybe even worse, than Konami!
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If you're in the US, it's not currently in the TOS (though that could change): https://legal.ubi.com/termsofuse/en-US
Relevant bits:
These Terms are effective unless and until terminated by either You or UBISOFT. These Terms may be terminated or suspended at any time, without notice, for any reason, including without limitation due to violations of the Code of Conduct. If you have more than one Account, We reserve the right to delete all the Accounts you have opened.
13.1 Termination of your Account at your initiative. You may terminate your Account at any time, automatically and without any judicial formality on the Ubisoft Account management page https://account.ubisoft.com/. We reserve the right to recover any charges owed to us, or anyone else, in connection with our Services, before the cancellation of your Account. Subject to compliance with the termination procedure indicated above, the termination of your Account will come into force within a reasonable period of time after receipt of your request.
13.2 Consequences of Termination of the Account. In the event of termination or suspension of your Account, You will lose, and We may delete, your profile and the related information You have passed on to us, together with any UGC you may have published, uploaded or made available on our Services. However, to the extent permitted by applicable law, We reserve the right to store your profile and any of the aforementioned Content on its servers. In the event of termination of your Account, you must immediately cease all use of the Services and destroy any related documentation on any medium. In the event of termination of your Account, You will not be able to participate in the Service(s) again without our express permission. In the event of termination of your Account or of a Service or Services associated with your Account, all achievements, virtual items and/or virtual currency that You have acquired may, in our sole discretion, be terminated or forfeited. You have no property rights in any achievements, virtual items and/or virtual currency. Any fees paid hereunder are non-refundable.
Sections that due to their nature are intended to survive, shall survive the termination of these Terms.
If you live elsewhere, I'm not sure of each individual TOS, but I know the one for Great Britain, and one that's "International" do have the clause:
https://legal.ubi.com/termsofuse/en-INTL (change INTL to GB for Great Britain)
Relevant bits:
These Terms are effective unless and until terminated by either You or UBISOFT. These Terms may be terminated or suspended at any time, without notice, for any reason, including without limitation due to violations of the Code of Conduct. If you have more than one Account, We reserve the right to delete all the Accounts you have opened.
13.1 Termination of your Account at your initiative. You may terminate your Account at any time, automatically and without any judicial formality on the Ubisoft Account management page https://account.ubisoft.com/. We reserve the right to recover any charges owed to us, or anyone else, in connection with our Services, before the cancellation of your Account. Subject to compliance with the termination procedure indicated above, the termination of your Account will come into force within a reasonable period of time after receipt of your request.
13.2 Consequences of Termination of the Account. In the event of termination or suspension of your Account, You will lose, and We may delete, your profile and the related information You have passed on to us, together with any UGC you may have published, uploaded or made available on our Services. However, to the extent permitted by applicable law, We reserve the right to store your profile and any of the aforementioned Content on its servers. In the event of termination of your Account, you must immediately cease all use of the Services and destroy any related documentation on any medium. In the event of termination of your Account, You will not be able to participate in the Service(s) again without our express permission. In the event of termination of your Account or of a Service or Services associated with your Account, all achievements, virtual items and/or virtual currency that You have acquired may, in our sole discretion, be terminated or forfeited. You have no property rights in any achievements, virtual items and/or virtual currency. Any fees paid hereunder are non-refundable.
Sections that due to their nature are intended to survive, shall survive the termination of these Terms.
From how some of the things are written, it appears this is part of an attempt to comply with stricter privacy laws. Stricter privacy laws are usually a good thing, but I can see how it would be problematic when it comes to digital content. Still, I imagine there are solutions that could be implemented, and Ubisoft has just chosen not to. That's where I think people will have the most leverage in combating this policy.
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a
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