According to gamers a patch released for basketball video game NBA 2K14 adds 'always on' DRM to the game which means it can no longer be played offline. The patch was distributed to both Xbox One and Playstation 4 consoles by the publisher 2K games.
On the gamers forum Neogaf users complain they can't play NBA 2K14 offline anymore since the patch was released. When the game can't connect to the servers of 2K, it quits the game and returns to the main menu without a warning. This also happens in single player modus. In 'offline modus' also MyCareer and MyGM can't be played anymore. According to gamers all parts of the game where the virtual currency VC can be used it's no longer possible to play without a connection to the 2K servers.
The new 'always on' requirement of NBA 2K14 was added to both the Xbox One and Playstation 4 versions of the game. It's possible that 2K wants to protect the game against offline cheats this way, but many gamers complain that 2K has taken this protection too far. The requirement was not part of the game when they bought it and the requirement was also not on the packaging. Gamers also complain about slow servers.
Microsoft previously received a lot of criticism when it became known the company would add 'always on' DRM to all Xbox One games. Later the company decided to cancel it but it seems publishers find their own ways of implementing it. That doesn't mean we'll see it on many other games, large publishers like EA and Ubisoft announced they will not implement 'always on' DRM.
