The Sims 3 won't use DRM

Electronic Arts has decided against using Digital Rights Management for The Sims 3 when it is released later this year, in an about-turn following a strong user backlash from the player-base of the publisher's other products.

Will Wright's latest release, Spore, was criticised particularly heavily for limiting the number of installs allowed for the game in an attempt to prevent it from being pirated.

The company's CEO, John Riccitiello, later admitted that he didn't like DRM, but thought that it was a necessity for some titles.

"We're going to see an evolution of these things," he said in October last year. "I wish we didn't live in a world where we had to do these types of things. I want it to be seamless and easy - but I also don't want to have a bonfire of money," he added.

But now it seems DRM has been abandoned altogether for one of the highest profile releases of the year, a move explained by the series' executive producer Rod Humble on the Sims 3 website.

"To play the game there will not be any online authentication needed," he said, explaining that the title will feature CD-key copy protection only. "We feel like this is a good, time-proven solution that makes it easy for you to play the game without DRM methods that feel overly invasive or leave you concerned about authorisation server access in the distant future."

The latest instalment in the world-beating Sims franchise is currently scheduled for release in early June.