There’s little question that DRM, or digital rights management, is one of the more contentious topics in gaming. Publishers like to have the security of knowing their games can’t easily be pirated; gamers want impediment-free access to their purchases, both online and offline. For some people, the presence of DRM technology determines which version of a game they’ll buy. Sometimes, as in the case of Might & Magic 10 - Legacy, DRM causes unforeseen repercussions even for publishers.

Many games with DRM require that the game system, be it PC or console, constantly be connected to the internet in order to be played. However, some players don’t have steady access to the internet or find it less than ideal to remain connected. This has led to groups whose sole purpose is to crack game DRM systems, often within days or even hours of release. For example, Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time’s online-only DRM was cracked in less than a day.

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In the case of Ubisoft’s Might & Magic 10 - Legacy, which released in 2014, DRM caused unexpected problems when the game’s servers were officially shut down at the beginning of June. Much of Might & Magic 10 - Legacy’s single-player and DLC content is DRM protected, requiring users to go online for authorization. But those DRM authorization servers have been shut down, leaving many people unable to access content that they paid for. This situation caused many gamers to voice their discontent online and, as a result, Ubisoft requested that Might & Magic 10 - Legacy be removed from sale on Steam.

might and magic 10 legacy removed from steam ship dock

While this will prevent people from inadvertently buying a game that they can’t play, this does not resolve the issue for those who already own Might & Magic 10 - Legacy. Consequently, many are resorting to one of the few methods people have for sharing their frustration with a game: review bombing. As of this writing, only 13 percent of user reviews left in the last 30 days have been positive on the title’s Steam page. However, because the game is no longer for sale, it’s questionable how effective the practice will be in this case. Ubisoft has not yet commented on the situation.

Recently, another inconvenience caused by DRM was uncovered, this time with regard to Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and backward compatible games. When a player inserts an Xbox, Xbox 360, or Xbox One game disc into the Series X, the system only reads the physical media as a license and requires the game to be downloaded in order to be played. But if the user is not connected to Xbox Live, even though they own the game, this cannot be verified and therefore the game can’t be played, and this extends even to backward compatible games purchased from the Xbox Games Store.

Might and Magic 10 - Legacy is available on PC but can no longer be purchased.

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Source: Eurogamer