Over the weekend, followers of Ubisoft video games underwent a minor panic as a rumor unfold that Ubisoft is perhaps spontaneously deleting inactive Ubisoft accounts, completely destroying digital recreation libraries if customers aren’t logging on usually sufficient. Nonetheless, Ubisoft has now clarified that that is false, and customers’ digital recreation libraries are secure, even when their accounts are inactive.
The rumors had been kicked off when a tweet circulated exhibiting an electronic mail entitled “Ubisoft Account Closure As a result of Inactivity.” The e-mail instructed that the recipient’s Ubisoft account had been quickly suspended, and could be closed completely in 30 days except the closure was canceled by the account proprietor.
UBISOFT closes your account when you haven’t logged in for a while.
You’ll lose all of your video games bought endlessly. pic.twitter.com/exC78bUt93
— AntiDRM? (@PC_enjoyer) July 19, 2023
The e-mail was then confirmed to be reliable by the official Ubisoft Assist Twitter account, which reiterated the given directions for canceling the pending account closure.
Whereas all of that is reliable, what brought on individuals to panic was the context supplied by the unique poster, who claimed that “You’ll lose all of your video games bought endlessly.”
In an electronic mail to IGN, Ubisoft clarified its stance on account deletions. The writer confirmed it has “for a few years now” deleted inactive accounts in accordance with the EU’s Common Information Safety Regulation (GDPR) on how lengthy corporations are permitted to retailer particular person private data. The corporate claims its insurance policies are “aligned with authorized necessities and with the requirements of the trade” and that additionally they function fraud prevention.
Nonetheless, Ubisoft additionally clarified its standards for account deletion, noting that it completely doesn’t embody accounts which have bought video games connected to them. The writer it takes the next under consideration:
The gaming exercise of the account since its creationThe account’s libraries: accounts that embody bought PC video games should not eligible for deletion [emphasis Ubisoft’s]The period of inactivity of the account, which means the final login to our ecosystem (together with from Ubisoft video games on Steam and different platforms)In observe, as of immediately, we’ve got by no means deleted accounts which have been inactive for lower than 4 yearsThe existence of an lively subscription tied to the account.
Ubisoft added that emails such because the one circulated are despatched to customers 30 days previous to account deletion, and if a person tries to log in throughout that window, they may obtain a discover and a hyperlink to reactivate the account upon login. You’ll be able to learn extra about its coverage on its official web site.
So no, if you have not logged into your Ubisoft account in years, you are not on the verge of dropping your recreation library. After all, there’s nonetheless a lot extra to fret about concerning digital possession of video games or different media and the danger of dropping these libraries at any time, particularly at a time when digital recreation releases appear poised to push out bodily any day now, however you may relaxation assured that at the very least on this state of affairs, Ubisoft is not simply obliterating accounts willy-nilly.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Received a narrative tip? Ship it to rvalentine@ign.com.
