Denuvo: Difference between revisions

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'''{{Wplink|Denuvo|Denuvo Anti-Tamper}}''' (not to be confused with Denuvo Anti-Cheat) is a video game [[DRM|digital-rights management]] (DRM) software developed as the successor to [[SecuROM]] by [[Sony]] Digital Audio Disc Corporation (DADC) since 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Purchese |first=Robert |date=19 Dec 2014 |title=Don't call it DRM: what's Denuvo Anti-Tamper? |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/denuvo-anti-tamper-drm |url-status=live |access-date=5 Apr 2025 |website=EuroGamer |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260206130702/https://www.eurogamer.net/denuvo-anti-tamper-drm |archive-date=6 Feb 2026}}</ref> After a buyout in 2018, it is now distributed by the company [[Irdeto]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Ivy |date=23 Jan 2018 |title=Irdeto acquires Denuvo in bid to beef up security for the games industry |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/irdeto-acquires-denuvo-in-bid-to-beef-up-security-in-the-games-industry |url-status=live |access-date=5 Apr 2025 |website=Games Industry |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250831015024/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/irdeto-acquires-denuvo-in-bid-to-beef-up-security-in-the-games-industry |archive-date=31 Aug 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Ivy |date=29 Aug 2018 |title=Denuvo: "There is no uncrackable game. What we do is protect the initial sales" |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/denuvo-and-irdeto-on-protecting-early-sales-from-piracy |url-status=live |access-date=5 Apr 2025 |website=Games Industry |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251123140716/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/denuvo-and-irdeto-on-protecting-early-sales-from-piracy |archive-date=23 Nov 2025}}</ref> It is commonly referred to simply as “Denuvo”, and it is currently the most advanced video-game DRM on the market. The goal of Denuvo is to make cracking a game as difficult as possible, in order to protect a game’s launch window.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Orland |first=Kyle |date=6 Feb 2018 |title=Denuvo: Our cracked RE7 protection is still better than nothing [Updated] |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/02/denuvo-our-cracked-re7-protection-is-still-better-than-nothing/ |url-status=live |access-date=5 Apr 2025 |website=ArsTechnica |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260216035055/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/02/denuvo-our-cracked-re7-protection-is-still-better-than-nothing/ |archive-date=16 Feb 2026}}</ref> Denuvo does this successfully in most cases, but it has been cracked multiple times. These cracks have mostly been done by a mysterious cracker known as Empress.<ref>{{Cite web |last=D'Anastasio |first=Cecilia |date=22 Feb 2021 |title=The Woman Bulldozing Video Games’ Toughest DRM |url=https://www.wired.com/story/empress-drm-cracking-denuvo-video-game-piracy/ |url-status=live |access-date=5 Apr 2025 |website=Wired |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260128213433/https://www.wired.com/story/empress-drm-cracking-denuvo-video-game-piracy/ |archive-date=28 Jan 2026}}</ref>

Despite Denuvo's denials,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lemon |first=Marshall |date=4 Sep 2018 |title=Two Point Hospital no longer uses Denuvo DRM |url=https://www.vg247.com/two-point-hospital-no-longer-uses-denuvo-drm |url-status=live |access-date=5 Apr 2025 |website=VG247 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250709125840/https://www.vg247.com/two-point-hospital-no-longer-uses-denuvo-drm |archive-date=9 Jul 2025}}</ref> its software has been documented to consume a lot of computer resources,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Machkovech |first=Sam |date=26 Dec 2018 |title=Evidence continues to mount about how bad Denuvo is for PC gaming performance |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/12/evidence-continues-to-mount-about-how-bad-denuvo-is-for-pc-gaming-performance/ |url-status=live |access-date=5 Apr 2025 |website=ArsTechnica |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251113203606/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/12/evidence-continues-to-mount-about-how-bad-denuvo-is-for-pc-gaming-performance/ |archive-date=13 Nov 2025}}</ref> notably documented for ''Tekken 7''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vazquez |first=Suriel |date=14 Apr 2018 |title=DRM Software Causing Performance Issues In PC Version Of Tekken 7, Says Producer |url=https://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2018/04/14/drm-software-causing-performance-issues-in-pc-version-of-tekken-7-says-producer.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180521071901/https://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2018/04/14/drm-software-causing-performance-issues-in-pc-version-of-tekken-7-says-producer.aspx |archive-date=21 May 2018 |access-date=5 Apr 2025 |website=Game Informer}}</ref> and ''Sonic Mania Plus,''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Leri |first=Michael |date=20 Jul 2018 |title=Sonic Mania Plus DRM Protection Slowing Down Legitimate Copies |url=https://www.gamerevolution.com/news/409231-sonic-mania-plus-drm-protection-slowing-down-legitimate-copies |url-status=live |access-date=5 Apr 2025 |website=Game Revolution |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260206175135/https://www.gamerevolution.com/news/409231-sonic-mania-plus-drm-protection-slowing-down-legitimate-copies |archive-date=6 Feb 2026}}</ref> both games where slowdown is extremely detrimental to players, especially in competitive settings.<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 Nov 2017 |title=Does modern DRM really hurt gaming performance? |url=https://megagames.com/editorials/does-modern-drm-really-hurt-gaming-performance |url-status=live |access-date=5 Apr 2025 |website=Mega Games |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251114171302/https://megagames.com/editorials/does-modern-drm-really-hurt-gaming-performance |archive-date=14 Nov 2025}}</ref> This slowdown often encourages users to prefer a crack of the game as soon as a crack releases, as seen by early cracks significantly harming sales.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tyson |first=Mark |date=13 Oct 2024 |title=Publishers face 20% game revenue reduction if Denuvo DRM is cracked quickly, according to new study |url=https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/publishers-face-20-percent-game-revenue-reduction-if-denuvo-drm-is-cracked-quickly-according-to-new-study |url-status=live |access-date=5 Apr 2025 |website=Tom's Hardware |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251019210731/https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/publishers-face-20-percent-game-revenue-reduction-if-denuvo-drm-is-cracked-quickly-according-to-new-study |archive-date=19 Oct 2025}}</ref><!--I believe that DRM contributes to sales loss when a crack releases, moreso because the crack is the better version of the product on the market, plus also licensing fees for early/day 1 cracks are harmful for developers.-->Consumers who run lower-end hardware are often unable to even launch these games without running cracked versions, especially when the game's publisher has under-optimized it.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bayley |first=Dominic |date=24 Sep 2024 |title=Are modern PC games badly optimized or is it just time to upgrade? |url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/2455340/are-modern-pc-games-badly-optimized-or-is-it-just-time-to-upgrade.html |url-status=live |access-date=5 Apr 2025 |website=PCWorld |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260116000508/https://www.pcworld.com/article/2455340/are-modern-pc-games-badly-optimized-or-is-it-just-time-to-upgrade.html |archive-date=16 Jan 2026}}</ref>

Many games that implement Denuvo's protections also come with machine activation limits, usually 5 activations per 24-hour period.[https://en.gamegpu.com/game/assassin-s-creed-shadows-drm-protection-day-and-limitation-to-5-activations-per-day] This stops consumers that have legally acquired their game software from being able to use it on all their devices by imposing arbitrary limits on activations.