[6] 38 Studios founder Curt Schilling justified the use of an online pass to unlock the seven-part bonus quest "House of Valor" on the single-player RPG Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (which was published by EA) as "day one DLC" intended as an incentive for early adopters.
In late 2009, EA began implementing online passes in its games as part of an initiative known as "Project Ten Dollar"; Mass Effect 2 used an online pass to allow access to bonus content through its "Cerberus Network" system, while Dragon Age Origins came with a code that could be redeemed to download its first major DLC release, The Stone Prisoner, for free, as well as an exclusive armor set.
On November 1, 2013, Ubisoft followed suit by discontinuing its Uplay Passport system for future titles, and making the pass for its recently released Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag available at no charge.
A Ubisoft spokesperson stated that the system was "no longer the best approach for ensuring that all our customers have the best possible experience with all facets of our games", noting that Black Flag's single-player campaign contained passive online features that would be otherwise unavailable without activating the pass.
It is similarly intended to discourage the second-hand re-sale or sharing of these textbooks by only allowing their online functionality to be utilized by a single student; requiring others to buy their own copy of the book or obtain an access code individually.