That's actually supposed to happen. The patch removes the DRM as well as some other fixes. So activation is no longer needed. I think I remember Sega saying they would remove the DRM eventually, I'm surprised they actually did.
I guess they shut down the authentication servers since the patch removes the need for it. You'd think they'd redirect people to the patch somehow. Kinda annoying for people, like yourself, who just bought the game and are unaware of the patch. Especially since the patch is sorta hidden away and not really advertised. Someone should make sure that the digital download versions of the game come with the 1.1 patch already installed.
I hope Sega/Obsidian are aware of this or people who buy the game are going to get stuck at activation.