IRDETO, the owner of Denuvo games technology, is disproving the negative portrayal of its product in the media. To achieve this, the company is launching a special program that allows “trusted media” to compare game performance with and without Denuvo.
Denuvo, a form of digital rights management (DRM) extensively used by video game publishers, has garnered significant resentment from players. While it’s designed to safeguard games from hacking and piracy, it has faced criticism for various reasons. Many argue that Denuvo hampers game performance, leads to activation and compatibility issues, and restricts the rights of game buyers.
Having traditionally refrained from responding to critics of its DRM software, Irdeto, the company that acquired Denuvo in 2018, is now changing its approach. Steve Hughin, the Operational Director for Videorams at IRDETO, explains that the negative perception of Denuvo among digital pirates and the gaming community is not surprising. He suggests that software technologies like Denuvo allow studios to profit from their work and reinvest those earnings into the development of new games. Hughin also emphasizes that Denuvo was created by gamers with a genuine love for games, aiming to strengthen and improve the industry.
However, a significant number of players do not view Denuvo as a force for positive change, contrary to Hughin’s portrayal. When Intel introduced its Alder Lake processors, Denuvo complicated the lives of many gamers for several months. Developers sometimes struggle to integrate Denuvo effectively into their games, resulting in certain publishers like Square Enix and Capcom removing it after the initial sales period.
Moreover, the standard activation limit imposed by Denuvo can hinder hardware reviewers who seek to assess CPU and GPU performance on multiple machines without waiting for a 24-hour timer. Additionally, any issues with Denuvo’s activation servers can prevent paying customers from accessing their games. Some users attempting to play Denuvo-protected titles on Steam Deck via Proton have also encountered difficulties.