“You just need to check out Steam forums, for example. Very toxic, very hostile environment.” That’s Denuvo’s product manager, Andreas Ullmann, speaking with Rock Paper Shotgun about the perception surrounding his company’s anti-cheat and anti-piracy software.
Final Fantasy XVI is a recent high-profile PC release with Denuvo’s anti-piracy software, image credit: Square Enix.
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If you’re a hardcore PC gamer, you’re probably aware of Denuvo’s anti-piracy software, which developers and publishers integrate into releases to combat piracy and maximize profits. Final Fantasy XVI and Black Myth: Wukong are two recent examples of games with Denuvo’s anti-piracy software, with the general perception that Denuvo impacts performance. Or worse, it destroys SSDs.
“We simply don’t want to leave the floor to these people who are posting all things about us anymore,” Andreas Ullmann adds. “We also want to share our view, our opinion on these topics, and also act as a trusted source of information.”
Based on the interview, that view is that when it comes to the performance impact, it’s really “just a minority” of the games that feature Denuvo’s software. On top of this, claims and even video demonstrations of ‘cracked’ versions of games that were reported to run faster are false.
“The cracks still have all our code in, and all our code is executed,” Andreas Ullmann explains. “There is even more code on top of the cracked code – that is executing on top of our code, and causing even more stuff to be executed. So there is technically no way that the cracked version is faster than the uncracked version. That’s simply a technical fact.”
He even cites a recent study as a reason that PC gamers should embrace Denuvo, which shows how it increases the revenue a game developer and publisher can make by up to 20%. If a game launches without being cracked or pirated, developers make more money, which allows them to create more games.
He even states that the piracy scene influences the ‘normal gaming scene’ and spreads misinformation about Denuvo’s software. Setting aside what you might feel about Denuvo or the claims being made, it’s an interesting read and worth checking out.