Ubisoft's new reward program aims to mend UPlay's image

Ubisoft's UPlay gaming service has something of an image problem, to put it mildly. It's supposed to handle everything from copy protection to multiplayer matching, but it's frequently known for being flaky, insecure and an overall hassle. The game developer is doing something about that, thankfully: it just launched Ubisoft Club, its long-in-testing rewards program. In spirit, it sounds a bit like the defunct Club Nintendo. The more you play, the more Units (Ubisoft's virtual currency) you earn -- get enough and you'll unlock downloadable content, beta tests and other goodies.

This doesn't appear to be a straight-up replacement for UPlay, since you're still encouraged to sign up for the existing service and link accounts. With that said, there's little doubt that Ubisoft Club exists in part to improve the company's reputation with online services. It theoretically gives you more reasons to see what UPlay has to offer, rather than do the bare minimum you need to start playing.