Ubisoft fights gray market sales of game keys with new distribution system

Ubisoft will no longer provide CD keys to online game stores. From now on it uses Silent Key Activation, a system where the game store only gets a token and the buyer has to log in directly with their uPlay credentials. This is in the fight against sales on the gray market.

Silent Key Activation was developed in collaboration with the British Genba Digital, that company writes in a announcement. Because buyers do not receive a key, but the game is added directly to their account, there is nothing to resell at a later time. The tokens that the stores receive cannot be taken with you either: they must be linked directly to a uPlay account at the time of sale.

The gray market for CD keys consists partly of sellers who buy keys with stolen credit card information and resell them for lower prices. This market is therefore dependent on actual, concrete codes that can be copied and pasted. This is no longer possible with the new system from Ubisoft and Genba. The game is immediately added to a uPlay library upon sale and is non-transferable. Keys from bundles, promotions and cheaper regions are also offered on the gray market.

According to Venturebeat, ten different online game stores are now using the new system, including Chrono.gg and Fanatical. All parties wishing to sell digital versions of Ubisoft games from now on must use Silent Key Activation.