When PC title From Dust was released, PC gamers discovered that, yes, you must have an always-on internet connection. Previous claims stated that it wouldn't. Now, Ubisoft is ready to make amends.
As Kotaku posted last week, Ubisoft originally said that reports of a mandatory always-on connection were erroneous. Yet after From Dust's release, Ubisoft evidently deleted and then restored the post in its official forums making that claim. For the record, Ubisoft now confirms that, yes, you'll need to be connected to the Internet to launch the game, no matter what.
Steam even offered refunds to gamers who purchased the game based on misrepresentations of DRM.
A future patch will apparently eliminate the need for internet authentication to play the game. From a Ubi Forum Manager: "Our tech teams are working on a patch that should release in approximately two weeks that will eliminate the need for any online authentication. This development time is required as we are working to ensure that those who have already started the game, and who's progress is currently saved on our servers, will receive and save their game information locally. Once the patch is ready, players who already have the game will automatically receive the update on their next login and subsequent game sessions will be 100% offline."
Smart move on Ubisoft's part that will hopefully make amends for a very stupid one. But will this be true of all future Ubisoft PC games or is this a one off deal?
From Dust PC Official Statement [Ubi Forums via Rock Paper Shotgun]