14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier in the day a line in the End User License Agreement for Windows 10 attracted a lot of attention because it suggested that Microsoft reserved the right to search for pirated content on machines using the new operating system and remove it.
A much more real issue with the OS is that at the moment there's no way to run titles that were protected using either SafeDisc or Securom Digital Rights Management solutions on launch, because the company has decided that both technologies are unreliable.
There's a wide range of video games, published starting in the early 2000s and gradually petering out once Steam became dominant on the PC, which rely on one of the above-mentioned methods, and at the moment it seems that there's no way to use them in their disk-based incarnation.
Rock, Paper, Shotgun has translated statements from Boris Schneider-Johne, a Microsoft representative, that explain, "This DRM stuff is also deeply embedded in your system, and that’s where Windows 10 says 'sorry, we cannot allow that, because that would be a possible loophole for computer viruses.' That’s why there are a couple of games from 2003-2008 with Securom, etc. that simply don’t run without a no-CD patch or some such."
The company considers both Securom and SafeDisc to be a potential danger and has no plans to introduce support for them in Windows 10.
DRM tends to create problems years after it is first introduced
For some titles that use either of the two technologies, patches are offered to eliminate the DRM solutions.
Others are offered in a new digital version through GOG and other outlets, upgraded to work on Windows 10 and with SafeDisc and Securom eliminated.
Gamers can also risk and install a no-CD patch to try and run them.
Microsoft is not in any way to blame for its refusal to accept the DRM solutions on its new operating system, but the company could try to work with third parties to make sure that as many video games as possible run on the OS.
The company is at the moment working to create a tight integration between Windows 10 and Xbox One home consoles.
At the moment, content can be streamed from the gaming platforms to the PC but in the future Microsoft is also aiming for cross-platform play and more interaction.