Quantum Break has just been released on the PC and from the looks of it, the game treats you like a pirate if you try to play it without being logged into the Windows Store. Not that you really can, but under a number of circumstances you may lose connection to the Windows Store and the anti-piracy DRM may get triggered.
What the game basically does, when players log out of the Windows Store after launching the game, is make Jack Joyce look like a pirate.
As the official FAQ suggests, this is actually a DRM against piracy that may affect legitimate owners:
“DRM might have accidentally triggered. Make sure you’ve logged into your Microsoft account before starting the game”
This is a clever anti-piracy easter egg, though we don’t know whether it affects the actual gameplay (as Croteam’s immortal scorpion did in Serious Sam 3).
A similar DRM approach was also used in Alan Wake.
Expect a PC Performance Analysis in the coming days!