Ubisoft announces Uplay online pass

Ubisoft today confirmed that they will be using a online pass program called Uplay Passport designed to discourage second-hand sales of their titles.

The pass will offer “access to online features and exclusive content” for all their future releases which will come with online capabilities.  The program is designed to provide players online access, and will be a part of the company’s Uplay in-game service.

The Uplay passport will apaarently offer extra value as it’ll bring with it a “bevy of rewards and community features, just for playing Ubisoft games.”

Ubisoft plans to implement this new passport program in the coming months in many of the publisher’s core games. They’ll come with a one-time use registration code which they will need to redeem in order to enjoy various online features offered by the title, including access to multiplayer.

The passport can also be bought separately for a price of $9.99 in case you’ve got a second-hand copy of the title which requires this system. That will enable you to unlock all the features once again for the game.

Ubisoft has confirmed that Driver: San Francisco will be the first Ubisoft title to implement this new system.

Ubisoft isn’t the first to introduce such a feature, with both THQ and EA having done this before them, and publisher like Sony planning to introduce a similar feature for their own first-party titles. This enables them to earn something from the second-hand games market, from which they don’t earn any profit otherwise. Although, commercially viable, it might not go down too well with the company’s fanbase. Do let us know your thoughts below.