Ubisoft Connect Accounts in Jeopardy: The Risk of Losing Games

Ubisoft Connect Accounts (And Their Games) May Be Lost If Left Inactive For Too Long

By | The New York Times

July 24, 2023

If you haven’t logged into your Ubisoft Connect account in several years, you should probably try to remember the password. Last week, a Twitter user who goes by AntiDRM received an email from Ubisoft noting that their account had been deemed inactive. Ubisoft’s email went on to say that the inactive account was suspended and would be permanently closed in 30 days unless the user logged in to revoke the changes. A permanent closure would have seen all the game licenses on that user’s account revoked.

The Ubisoft Support account quickly jumped into the replies on AntiDRM’s tweet to provide further instructions to anyone who has received the same email. This might appear alarming on the face of it, but there is a method to the madness.

Data Privacy and Protection Laws

The reason for account closures like this one is that Ubisoft must abide by data privacy and protection laws like the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Once the data — in this case, your Ubisoft account — has sat untouched long enough that it is considered unnecessary for data collection, Ubisoft is bound to delete it for safety.

There’s a couple of wrinkles here, obviously. The first is that your Ubisoft Connect account (formerly Uplay) may have quite a few games attached to it, games you paid good money for. The second is that some Ubisoft games purchased on Steam may be linked to your Ubisoft Connect account. Were the linked UC account to disappear, those Steam games would automatically become vestigial, and there wouldn’t be much Valve could do about it.

This isn’t the first time this particular story has cropped up. Back in 2021, it appeared that under the rules of the GDPR, Ubisoft would need to delete accounts that had been inactive for just six months. Ubisoft ultimately agreed that this was too short a turnaround and now says deletion rules only apply to accounts that have gone unattended for four years. As long as you’ve logged in during that time, your account should be safe and sound.

Varied Approach By Publishers

Ubisoft is one of only a few publishers to adhere to the GDPR deletion rules. Many, like Valve, Blizzard, and GOG, refuse to delete user accounts for any reason. Epic Games takes a more roundabout approach, sometimes renaming inactive accounts as a way to avoid deletions.

The takeaway? If you know you have games tied to your Ubisoft Connect account but can’t remember the last time you fired it up, maybe just log in as a sanity check. If nothing else, it’ll keep the lights on. If you find your account has been suspended or deleted, talk to Ubisoft Support, raise a ticket, and they can try to help you get it back.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policies or positions of The New York Times.