This is like the 100th time I have seen someone say this... but Ubi says their DRM "worked" so I guess it must be true.

by "worked" they mean they didn't see pirate copies on release day, now the sceners seem to have someone in the pressing plant so we're seeing them a week or 2 before release in many cases (except Anno which is likely due to it's online side calling home everyboot)

Also, games like Anno or Settlers don't have the same "draw" in the scene as Modern Warfare and Battlefield. So their isn't much renown in cracking them early. I guess the majority of the Anno players are old accountants and therefore not privy to the pirate scene. Or Germans ;-).

Anyway, I'm very happy with my Anno and it does work rather well in terms of DRM. You can play this game offline (after an online activatioon) and get all of you're core features,basically everything Anno 1404 had to offer. But their little "online features", while they by itselfs don't look like much, give the game a whole new level of fun.

They also release a "mini campaign" free every month with 3 - 5 scenarios. I so far played 2/3 of the first which took me 4-5 hours, so "mini" may not be the right term. Afaik, for those DLC to register and download you need to be online with your registered account, so this is also part of their "DRM strategy".

TL:DR While it is not "always online" for normal play, the benefits of it make you play online anyway. It didin't work as a DRM for be, because I would have bought that game anyway. But it is a step in the right direction.

That's how Heroes 6 worked as well...

Honestly all this DRM stuff is a stop-gap on the way toward always online everything, and maybe even streaming. That's the eventual goal for these companies and consumers have already shown they will support it, so it's only a matter of time.

Soak up the offline gaming while it lasts!