According to the grapevine which is 90% troll and 9% outright libel, Ubisoft have violated the DRM rules that Steam sets down. The publisher had said they will only have a one-time-activation DRM for purchasers of From Dust but rumor has it that this is not the case. Apparently, Steam will be giving a refund to anyone that asks for one on the grounds of false advertising, which all people who have touched business know is a huge deal, and in some countries, the laws about it come with a full set of teeth. Personally I think this is bunk.
EDIT: My suspicions were correct, see this image posted on Reddit. Steam is not giving refunds for From Dust.
The outrage isn’t purely at the DRM, but directed at the fact Ubisoft had apparently lied and thought they could get away with it. Unfortunately the internet doesn’t work that way, and millions of people using Steam at any given time, most of them /vg/ users, Redditors, Diggers and Bloggers means that even the slightest controversy will explode out of nowhere before the day is done.
A bit of looking around says that it will require a one-time connection however, as evidenced here, which also includes instructions on what to do if the game does not run properly or starts saying that an internet connection is required. Meaning this might simply be an error in the system that’s being blown out of proportion.
A handful of users on sites such as Reddit are saying they’re asking for refunds, and I’ll be checking back on that to see if they’re getting them or if this is just a random rumor. Knowing Ubisoft and their track record with DRM, it is quite likely, but at the same time the evidence I have posted against it being true shows a completely different train of thought. Anyone buy From Dust and suffer from Always Online DRM or have success with the linked solution?
