Recently, it was revealed that the upcoming Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster will ship with the Denuvo digital rights management software. The video games industry has many controversial problems, whether it's the shuttering of many, many, studios or increasing? toxic backlash from a highly strung yet vocal minority. Denuvo is just one? more contentious topic to add to the pile.

But what is it that makes it controversial among a lot of gamers? In this modern era, there's an argument that if you're a developer or publisher of games, you'd like to inves??t some of your funds into methods that protect your intellectual property.

Denuvo: what is it?

With the rise of digital gaming, companies have taken strides to ensure their titles are protected from potential piracy. That's essentially what digital rights management is. Those who recall the days of ??CDs—particularly in the late 90s and early 2000s—will remember DRM as a modern way for record companies to stop music lovers from copying albums and distributing them without having to hand over more money.

In a nutshell, that's what the Austrian-formed Denuvo So??ftware Solutions is all about, but for video games. It's been on?? the market for ten years, and it's been used in many releases to crack down on piracy while also preventing anyone from tampering with the product.

??Studios can license the software for their �usually PC �games. There was a time when anyone could "crack" a game disc, so it became possible to make mul??tiple (and illegal) copies for free, but DRM makes it more difficult, especially today. Denuvo Anti-Cheat was also developed for the Nintendo Switch to protect against unlicensed emulation.

Why is Denuvo so controversial, then?

Aside from any possible rebellious cries against capitalism, Denuvo does appear to incite its fair share of anger from PC ??gamers outside the usual torrent of games being unleashed to the world in clearly unfinished sta??tes.

Denuvo has been a point of contention due ??to how it af?fects overall performance, as it hogs a lot of CPU power. You don't have to look far to find stories of titles being review bombed or having a negative critical response from fans due to how it performs on PC, especially when it comes to framerates.

For example, Tekken 7 launched and was immediately the subject of DRM controversy. The game's director, Katsuhiro Harada, spoke out on Twitter/X about notable frame drops but made ??it clear that they weren't related to a system's GPU or CPU.

A further post from Harada mentioned " anti-tamper third-party middleware" as the culprit. While Denuvo w??asn't mentioned, we do know that Tekken 7 came loaded with it, so the director was almost certainly t?alking about it specifically. Denuvo was eventually removed from Tekken 7, though criticisms over games eventually taking it out are another discussion.

Arkane Studios was also forced to investigate stuttering problems after it became apparent that Deathloop was experiencing poor performance on PC. A few years back, one of the game's community managers posted on Reddit, ??saying the team was—at the time—prioritizing "investigating the issue right now." Again, Denuvo was not mentioned at an official level, but comments underneath certainly knew where to place the blame.

The removal of Denuvo

According to this Wiki list, 247 games use Denuvo DRM anti-tamper software as of July 4, 2024. These aren't obscure titles, either. Many of them are AAA releases, including the remake of Resident Evil 4, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and even stuff that's not yet been released, like the 20th-anniversary edition of Beyond Good & Evil.

Over the years, things have gotten to the point where gamers decided to take matters into their own hands. I'm referring, of course, to when a modder actually went ahead and removed Denuvo themselves from Resident Evil Village. While you could see this as an angry, knee-jerk reaction to the controversial software's implementation, benchmark tests �such as this one from Digital Foundry �discovered that ??performance i?mproved notably on PC.

Since then, Capcom has not only issued a patch to address issues gamers were facing but eventually removed the offending DRM from RE: Village entirely. Other games to follow suit include Ghostwire: Tokyo, Doom Eternal, and Lies of P,?? which had only been out for a few mo??nths when Denuvo was removed.

The fact that so many studios and publishers do go ahead and remove it after the fact speaks volumes. A piece of software meant to protect a product?? that instead becomes known for how it affects game performance almost smacks of anti-consumer tactics, not that I think Irdeto �the current owner of the Denuvo company �is doing this intentionally.

To close out this piece, check out the curated list of Steam games that have removed the software post-release. I can't vouch entirely for its accuracy, but it's hard not to conclude that Denuvo is perhaps the constant. Best case scenario: it's an unpopular met?hod of protecting intellectual property. Worse case: it's disruptive, at least from a gaming perspective.

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Recently, Capcom announced it was bringing back the original Dead Rising game in the guise of a deluxe remaster. Since then, the studio has run its summer showca??se, where? it unveiled a release date of September 19. However, there's one thing PC users should know about the title.

According to the Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster Steam page, the game will be incorporating "3rd-party DRM," in this case the e?ver-unpopular Denuvo. Fans who are all too familiar with Capcom's work probably won't be surprised to know this, but it still may come as a disappointment to some.

If you're not aware, Denuvo is essentially anti-piracy software that often gets shipped with a lot of games. However, it's considered controversial and is often to blame for poor performance and framerate issues, particularly on PC. Some games like Back 4 Blood and Doom Eternal have removed DRM, though not until years after release.

Dead Rising vs. Digital Rights Management

That aside, the new remaster of Dead Rising sure does look tasty. Given that the original came out way back in 2006, it's aged quite a bit in terms of its visuals. For the Deluxe Remaster, Capcom is giving the graphics a much-needed boost through its in-house RE Engine, the same development toolkit used for the modern Resident Evil games.

Dead Rising really hit the spot back in the day. It absolutely nailed the George A Romero-style of zombie apocalypses, taskin?g players with remaining inside a shopping mall for three days, surrounded by hordes of the? undead.

I can't speak for the fan base regarding the use of Denuvo DRM. I just know two thi?ngs:

1. A lot of gamers don't seem to like it.
2. Publishers and developers have been known to take it out after the fact.

We'll see what happens in this case.

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While Turtle Rock Studios isn't making more content for its FPS zombie shooter Back 4 Blood, the Left 4 Dead-esque spiritual successor is still getting some attention. This is evidenced by the fact that not only has the game had a s??mall update recently, but Denuvo has also been removed.

As noted on SteamDB, a change which occurred yesterday spells it out i??n black and w?hite: "Removed 3rd-Party DRM," referring specifically to Denuvo. The hugely unpopular anti-tamper software is often considered the bane of PC gaming. However, it feels weird that it's been taken out of something that was released at the tail end of 2021.

At two and a half years old, and with just over 2,500 people currently playing at the time of writing, it feels a little late for Back 4 Blood to do away with DRM. While studios and publishers have been known to remove the offending software post-launch, it's typically done a bit sooner. One recent example I can point to is Lies of P, wh??ich took Denuvo out just a few months after the game's releas?e.

As for the new patch it's been referred to as a "minor game update," and puts emphasis on some issues with the Easy Anti-Cheat system. Maybe this explains why Denuvo was removed entirely, bu?t I'm s?peculating.

What could have been

Look, I'm just going to say it: I actually liked Back 4 Blood. I know it underdelivered what it initially promised, and it was pretty buggy on release, but it made me (sort of) rekindle my yearned-for Left 4 Dead days.

I feel it is a bit unfair to say the developer missed the mark entirely. Its four-player campaign mechanics, having random hordes of?? zombies (or The Ridde??n, as they were called), chance encounters with Special Infected enemies, and an emphasis on team-based combat were reminiscent of Valve's legendary shooter.

It is a bit of a shame it didn't quite pan out how we all hoped, but I like to think it was at least a valiant effort. Yeah, it had a frustrating difficulty curve and the AI companions left much to be desired, but I got ??a few months of joy out of it.

It's also showing as "Mostly Positive" on Steam in terms of recent reviews, so it's not all bad. It's hard to say what Turtle Rock is working on next. All we can hope is the studio doesn't overpromise on its next project. Don't �for example �market it as the "next Half-Life" or something.

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The Bloodborne-esque Lies of P has quietly removed the anti-tamper DRM Denuvo, as indicated by the changelog on SteamDB. The reasons for the change are currently unknown, though there probably won't be any comp?laints about it.

The DRM was added on September 15, just a few days before the game's official release which resulted in a bit of controversy. Fingers have often been pointed at Denuvo for affecting the performance of games that implement it, though the company itself has repeatedly denied these allegations. At the very least, it doesn't seem to be the case with Lies of P which runs smoothly on PC.

There are a few reasons why Denuvo has earned itself a bad reputation. In addition to being blamed for the poor performance of games such as Resident Evil Village and Tekken 7, it also has the potential to leave games unplayable which happened in 2021 due to "domain issues." This impacted several games, including Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Guardians of the Galaxy.

Denuvo or not, Lies of P has earned itself an ardent fan base despite the game's difficulty. With ov??er a million copies sold, it's an undeniab??le hit for Neowiz Games, and it also has the honor of having been nominated for several awards, including the Golden Joystick Award and The Game Awards.

The praise isn't universal, however. Our own Zoey Handley gave the game a rating of 6.5, pointing out that it's rather unoriginal, thou??gh she d?oes add that it "pales only slightly in comparison to FromSoftware’s titles, and that’s a feat in itself."

The removal of Denuvo may draw in more players interested in the dark reimagining of Carlo Collodi's timeless tale of the lying puppet. If you've been curious, now's a good time to give Neowiz's game a chance, as it is currently on sale on Steam as of February 19.

For those who have been playing already and are looking for more action, on February 14, Lies of P gave players new weapons and armor as part of the free Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty DLC. A sequel is also in the works, though no details regarding ??what to expect have been officially shared yet.

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As if there wasn't enough reason to be skeptical about Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, it appears controversial DRM Denuvo has been added to the PC version of the live service game just days before launch. The Steam Page for Suicide Squad was updated just yesterday to include the following warning message: Incorporates ?3rd-party DRM: Denuvo Anti-Tamper.

Tough Nut to Crack

While historically Denuvo DRM has done a decent job of serving its purpose: preventin?g the game from being cracked and able to spread via piracy, it comes at a cost to those who legally purchase games with it included. In order for the DR??M to properly work, every installation must include the Denuvo Anti-Tamper.

Unfortunately, Denuvo often leads to performance issues restricted to PC versions of games. Recently released Tekken 8 made sure not to include Denuvo after Tekken 7 launched on PC wit??h horrid perf??ormance issues due to Denuvo.

Over on Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League's Steam Discussion Boards, players are already voicing their displeasure over the recent addition of Denuvo.

Nothing new for Warner Bros. Games

Honestly, I can't remember the last title published by Warner Bros. Games that didn't include Denuvo. Mortal Kombat launched with it, as did Hogwarts Legacy. By that metric alone, it's not necessarily unexpected that Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League will launch with Denuvo integrated. I think what's mor?e disappointing is that it was seemingly added last minute, with no indication of its inclusion unti??l just a couple of days before launch.

Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League launches on February 2 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Players who buy the $100 edition can get Early Access today, though servers may be down unexpectedly.

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The time has come, it would seem, for Bethesda to rid Doom Eternal of one of its biggest faults: the infamous Denuvo DRM. Having launched in March of 2020, Doom Eternal featured one of the most tone-dea??f implement?ations of Denuvo yet, hyping the DRM up as a "feature" via official channels. Subsequently, there was some amount of backpedaling from id Software on the topic with a temporary removal of the DRM, but Denuvo did eventually come back into the picture due to the game's multiplayer mode. Now, three years following that particular series of stumbles, Doom Eternal no longer appears to have Denuvo on board.

This information comes from SteamDB, as highlighted by the community over at the r/Games subreddit. Bethesda itself didn't announce the change or make a fuss of it in any way, shape, or form, which suggests the goal might've been to simply scrap the DRM while nobody was looking, and be done wit??h it.

[caption id="attachment_402260" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Bethesda[/caption]

Is Bethesda distancing itself from Denuvo?

Denuvo DRM has, historically, been used as an early post-launch defensive measure against piracy, allowing developers and publishers to move copies of a given game without worrying too much about potential cracks and file tampering. To that end, keeping Denuvo around for years after a game comes out doesn't necessarily make financial sense due to the costs of keeping the DRM around, and developer?s like Capcom haven't been ?shy about removing it from the picture relatively quickly.

Denuvo has acknowledged its bad PR already, but it's impossible to deny its ubiquity in the current market. Keeping this ubiquity in mind, it is rather curious that Bethesda would take Denuvo out of Doom Eternal right now, virtually alongside the release of Starfield. One would expect Bethesda to invest big bucks into keeping Starfield safe and sound from pirates, but the game doesn't leverage Denuvo at all. If Bethesda isn't going to use Denuvo for its flagship relea?se, are there plans at the company not to use the anti-piracy software at all moving forward? Only time will tell, but it is an interesting development, regardless.

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Cracking down on cracking

DRM (which stands for 'digital rights management') has become a sore point for gamers in recent years. Perhaps one of the biggest offenders is Denuvo, which is said to be a major factor in reducing game performance, especially on PC. It's become so controversial that studios have been known to remove the anti-theft software post-launch.

However, in a recent interview with Ars Technica, the Chief Operating Officer of Irdeto, the comp?any that brought Denuvo in 2018, has said they're aware of the reputation the anti-piracy tool has.  COO Steve Huin admitted that "we're seen as evil," in this modern era of gaming, particularly as they are "helping DRM exist," and "ensuring people make money out of games."

Huin then goes on to say that technologies such as Denuvo are to the benefit of players as well as the companies behind the games themselves, as it means "publishers can then invest in" subsequent projects. The intention, according to Huin, is to make the video?? game industry better. Given such a reputation, it may be difficult to convince a lot of people.

[caption id="attachment_391129" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Image via IGN.[/caption]

What's the deal with Denuvo?

Primarily, Denuvo and other DRM software are used to crack down on video game piracy. At the surface level, this seems like it would be a good? thing. However, Irdeto's tech is notorious for causing detrimental drops in overall performance.

One example relates to Arkane Studios' Deathloop. When it launched in 2021, it received a fair amount of backlash due to stuttering issues on the PC version. Many people pointed to the use of Denuvo as the major culprit. A patch was sent out which attempted to fix some of the issues, though Denuvo still remains part of the game.

Modders have attempted to remove DRM unofficially, with reports that suggest this improves performance noticeably, though Irdeto denies that its tech is the root cause of the problem. Additionally, Ars Technica noted that comparisons between Denuvo and non-Denuvo copies of Batman: Arkham Knight did not yield any d??ifferences in terms of performance??.

That aside, digital rights management software is still unpopular,? though it remains a constant. Huin ??acknowledges that some will not be convinced that Denuvo is a force for good, saying, "our voice is unfortunately not sufficient to convince people because we're not trusted in their mind as a starting point in that debate."

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Update includes controversial anti-tamper software

A new update for Tango Gameworks' cyber-noir actioner Ghostwire: Tokyo has quietly added the controversial Denuvo anti-pi?racy technology to t??he title, over a year on from the game's initial release.

The addition, spotted by eagle-eyed players, was authenticated by DOSG after an experiment ??conducted by the website caused the title to flag authentication errors, revealing that Denuvo software was now implemented in the first-person adventure, which launched on PC in March 2022. The Denuvo software has been a source of irritance in the PC world, following frequent instances where the resource-hungry anti-tamper tech has, reportedly, caused performance issues in PC ports of popular titles.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN26_029gzY&ab_cha??nnel=Bet??hesdaSoftworks

Just recently, Capcom removed Denuvo from the PC port of Resident Evil Village �a title that appeared to be hugely hindered by the addition of the software from a performance standpoint. The addition of Denuvo to Ghostwire: Tokyo, a title published by Bethesda Softworks, comes just weeks after the publisher has come under fire for announcing that its upcoming vampire hunter, Redfall, would also support the copy-protection software.

In addition to the implementation of Denuvo, the new Ghostwire: Tokyo update includes a selection of new missions, new combat abilities including "Charge Rush" and a new counter-attack skill, as well as new roguelite mode, which goes by the sinister title of The Spider's Thread. Ghostwire: Tokyo is available now on PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X.

Confirmed, Bethesda has added Denu??vo to Ghostwire: Tokyo [DSOG]

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Android activists lower defenses

It seems that Square Enix has removed the controversial Denuvo DRM measures from its PC edition of NieR Replicant. A new listing on the Steamdb App History suggests that the anti-pir?acy software was disabled yesterday, around six months on from the title's release.

The controversial Denuvo software is an industry-standard anti-tamper measure, that operates live during the playing of a video game to prevent hackers from gaining access to the title's source code and other integral elements. However, the security measure is frequently the source of chagrin from players, and has been known to adversely affect the performance of video games. Arkane Studios' recent shooter Deathloop has had some of its stumbles blamed on Denuvo, while tech-heads also found direct links to Denuvo and performance issues within the PC port of Capcom's Resident Evil Village.

The removal of Denuvo in NieR Replicant has been a quiet affair, and was only spotted thanks to a savvy Resetera user. The DRM tweak follows a major June update that saw the PC port boosted to 60 FPS �two patches that should produce a little more stability and smoothness in the enhanced RPG release. Given the industry's understandable concern about piracy, DRM is unlikely to vanish from major Steam titles anytime soon, but hopefully, a le?ss resource-hungry alternative can be ??found in the very near future.

NieR Replicant is available now on PS4, PC, and Xbox One. You can check out Chris Carter's review right here.

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