Ubisoft's decision to basically tell gamers that game ownership is no longer a thing may just trigger a significant rise in video game piracy. We don't have the numbers to show for it, but chatter on various gaming subreddits, forums and Discords is showing that more and more are considering taking to the digital equivalent of the high seas.
Video game piracy is a contentious topic and many advocates argue they're merely helping out with video game preservation. As the digitization of data literally threatens the physical existence of information, video games risk being lost because no one has copies of them anymore.
But, pirating video games does come at a cost. Developers, in particular, suffer the brunt of it. Although for certain studios, like, for example, CD Projekt RED's co-founder and current CEO, Marcin Iwiński, piracy becomes "irrelevant" for great games.
Having said that, piracy remains taboo in the entertainment industry, which is why it's surprising to see people openly talk about it.
As previously mentioned, Ubisoft's stance on ownership is central to this discussion. It's asking gamers to pay for copies of video games they'll never own. As a consequence, piracy has become an attractive alternative for some who say, "if you don't own the game you paid for, why bother paying?".