Ubisoft Removes Player in Accordance With GDRP
After a year of inactivity on the player's , Ubisoft removed it, depriving the of access to games worth hundreds of dollars. All this was done in compliance with the regulations and laws of the European Union.
- Ubisoft removed a player's after a year of inactivity;
- The lost access to his games without the possibility of refund;
- Everything is in accordance with the regulations that apply to the service.
PCWorld reports on an interesting case of a Norwegian gamer who in 2020 decided to sell his gaming PC and focus on his personal life. When, after a year, he decided it was time to return to his hobby, he encountered an unpleasant surprise after trying to to his Ubisoft .
As it turned out, he was unable to access the service for some reason. An attempt to reset the was successful, but the was still inaccessible. Tor, as this player introduced himself, eventually ed the department of the French publisher and found out that his had been deleted due to inactivity, and he lost access to all previously purchased games.
“If the is closed, there is no way to restore it,” claimed a Ubisoft rep
A copy of the email sent by Ubisoft. Source: PCWorld
Tor unearthed the message from Ubisoft in his email inbox, in the spam tab, which warned that his would be deleted if I didn't to it within 30 days. If you think that that's a bit much, well... Everything is in accordance with the of service, where we can read:
"We may suspend or close your and your ability to use one or more Services or part of the Services, at any time, automatically and at our sole discretion where: [...] upon notification, where your has been inactive for more than six months."
Further excerpts point out that once the is deleted, the money spent on it will not be refunded and we will lose access to the digital goods purchased. How so? Because of the GDPR, which applies within the European Union. This was confirmed by a representative of Ubisoft, responding to an email sent by PCWorld's editor:
"We have implemented the deletion process in compliance with the requirements of the GDPR (article 5.1e). Our policies are aligned with legal requirements and with the standards of the industry. This measure also acts as a protection for our players against fraud."
The steps that are taken to that an can be deleted were also revealed. The list includes:
- Activity on the since its creation;
- PC game ownership - s with purchased games cannot be deleted;
- s inactivity period (last to the Ubisoft "ecosystem"). As a rule, s without activity in the last four years are deleted;
- Ubisoft subscription activity.
The spice of the whole matter is added by the fact that in this case the automated system proved to be overzealous, which was itted by the company's spokesperson. He pointed out that the described case is not completely covered by the rules. The department will Tor and ask for all the data to clarify and somehow resolve the case.
PCWorld asked gaming regulations lawyer Ryan Morrison for a comment. Morrison indicated that while he doesn't such overzealous actions, from a legal standpoint, everything is perfectly fine. The company can revoke our access to purchased digital goods, or even delete the , at any time. He also reminds us that by choosing to purchase digitally, we acquire only a license to use the game, as opposed to the boxed edition.
How do other companies behave in similar cases? Valve has revealed that it never deletes inactive s. Microsoft only does this in the case of Minecraft Realms if a has not been active for 18 months. Riot Games, on the other hand, deletes inactive s, but makes sure that the player receives an email notification and has time to respond. Blizzard, on the other hand, actively battles s who create numerous s to occupy nicknames. If such a profile is unused, it will be deleted.
So if you haven't logged in to your Ubisoft Connect for more than six months, you'd better do it - and to periodically repeat this activity. You don't want to risk losing access to the games you've bought, do you?
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