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Denuvo

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Denuvo
Developer(s)Denuvo Software Solutions GmbH
Initial release2014; 10 years ago (2014)
PlatformMicrosoft Windows
TypeDigital rights management
LicenseProprietary
Websiteirdeto.com/denuvo/

Denuvo Anti-Tamper, more commonly known as Denuvo, is an anti-tamper technology and digital rights management (DRM) scheme developed by Austrian software company Denuvo Software Solutions GmbH, a subsidiary of Irdeto.

History

Denuvo is developed by Denuvo Software Solutions GmbH, a software company based in Salzburg, Austria.[1] The company was formed through a management buyout of DigitalWorks, the arm of the Sony Digital Audio Disc Corporation that developed the SecuROM DRM technology.[2] In January 2018, the company was acquired by larger software company Irdeto.[3] As of August 2018, the company employs 1,000 people, up from originally 45.[4] Development of the Denuvo software started in 2014.[1] FIFA 15, released in September 2014, was the first game to use Denuvo.[5]

3DM, a Chinese warez group, first claimed to have breached Denuvo's technology in a blog post published on 1 December 2014, wherein they announced that they would release cracked versions of Denuvo-protected games FIFA 15, Dragon Age: Inquisition and Lords of the Fallen.[6] Following onto this, 3DM released the version of Dragon Age: Inquisition about two weeks after that game had shipped.[6] The overall cracking progress took about a month, an unusually long time in the game cracking scene.[2][7] When asked about this development, Denuvo Software Solutions acknowledged that "every protected game eventually gets cracked".[2] However, technology website Ars Technica noted that most sales for major games happen within 30 days of release, and so publishers may consider Denuvo a success if it meant a game took significantly longer to be cracked.[8] In January 2016, 3DM's founder, Bird Sister, revealed that they were to give up on trying to break the Denuvo implementation for Just Cause 3, and warned that, due to the ongoing trend for the implementation, there would be "no free games to play in the world" in the near future.[9] Subsequently, 3DM opted to not crack any games for one year to examine whether such a move would have any influence on game sales.[10]

By October 2017, crackers were able to bypass Denuvo's protection within hours of a game's release, with notable examples being South Park: The Fractured but Whole, Middle-earth: Shadow of War, Total War: Warhammer 2 and FIFA 18, all being cracked on their release dates.[11] In another notable case, Assassin's Creed Origins, which wrapped Denuvo within security tool VMProtect as well as Ubisoft's proprietary DRM used for their Uplay distribution software, had its security features bypassed by Italian collective CPY in February 2018, three months after the game's release.[12] In December 2018, Hitman 2's protection was bypassed three days before its official release date due to exclusive pre-order access, drawing comparisons to Final Fantasy XV, which had its protection removed four days before release.[13]

By 2019, several products like Devil May Cry 5, Metro Exodus, Resident Evil 2, Far Cry New Dawn, Football Manager 2019 and Soul Calibur 6, were cracked within their first week of release, with Ace Combat 7 taking thirteen days.[13][14][15] In the case of Rage 2, which was released on Steam as well as Bethesda Softworks' own Bethesda Launcher, the Steam version was protected by Denuvo, where as the Bethesda Launcher version was not, leading to the game being cracked immediately, and Denuvo being removed from the Steam release two days later.[16][17]

A sister product, Denuvo Anti-Cheat, was announced in March 2019.[18]

Technology

Games protected by Denuvo require an online activation.[19] The software uses a "64-bit encryption machine".[20] Denuvo's marketing director, Thomas Goebl, stated that some console-exclusive games get PC releases due to this technology.[21]

List of Denuvo protected software

Name Publisher Developer Launch date
RESIDENT EVIL 2 Remake CAPCOM Capcom R&D Division 1 2019-01-25
Mortal Kombat 11 Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment NetherRealm Studios 2019-04-23
FIFA 15 Electronic Arts EA Canada 2014-09-23 [22][23]
Lords of the Fallen CI Games CI Games 2014-10-28
Dragon Age: Inquisition Electronic Arts BioWare 2014-11-18 [24][25]
Battlefield: Hardline Electronic Arts Visceral Games 2015-03-17 [26]
Batman: Arkham Knight Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Rocksteady Studios 2015-06-23 [27]
Mad Max Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Avalanche Studios 2015-09-01 [28]
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Konami Kojima Productions 2015-09-01 [28]
FIFA 16 Electronic Arts EA Canada 2015-09-22 [29]
Anno 2205 Ubisoft Blue Byte 2015-11-03 [30][31]
Star Wars Battlefront Electronic Arts EA DICE 2015-11-17 [32]
Just Cause 3 Square Enix Avalanche Studios 2015-12-01 [33]
Rise of the Tomb Raider Square Enix Crystal Dynamics 2016-01-28 [34]
Unravel Electronic Arts Coldwood Interactive 2016-02-09 [35]
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 Electronic Arts PopCap Games 2016-02-23 [36]
Far Cry Primal Ubisoft Ubisoft Montreal 2016-03-01 [37]
Hitman Square Enix IO Interactive 2016-03-11 [38]
Need for Speed Electronic Arts Ghost Games 2016-03-15 [39]
EVE: Gunjack CCP Games CCP Games 2016-03-28 [40]
ADR1FT 505 Games Three One Zero 2016-03-29 [41]
The Climb Crytek Crytek 2016-04-28 [42]
DOOM Bethesda Softworks id Software 2016-05-13 [43]
Homefront: The Revolution Deep Silver Dambuster Studios 2016-05-17
Total War: Warhammer SEGA Creative Assembly 2016-05-24
Mirror's Edge Catalyst Electronic Arts EA Digital Illusions CE 2016-06-07 [44]
Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter BigBen Interactive Frogwares 2016-06-10
INSIDE Playdead Playdead 2016-07-07
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Eidos Montreal Square Enix 2016-08-23
GOD EATER 2 Rage Burst BANDAI NAMCO Studio , SHIFT ,QLOC BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment 2016-08-29
Planet Coaster Frontier Developments Frontier Developments 2016-11-17
Just Dance 2017 Ubisoft Paris Ubisoft 2016-10-27
Abzû 505 Games Giant Squid Studios 2016-08-02
Fernbus Simulator Aerosoft GmbH TML-Studios 2016-08-25
Champions of Anteria Ubisoft Ubisoft Blue Byte 2016-08-30
WRC 6 Bigben Interactive Kylotonn 2016-10-14
FIFA 17 Electronic Arts EA Canada 2016-09-27
Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 Konami PES Productions 2016-09-13
Battlefield 1 Electronic Arts EA Digital Illusions CE 2016-10-21
Moto Racer 4 Microïds Artefacts Studio 2016-11-03
Dishonored 2 Bethesda Softworks Arkane Studios 2016-11-11
Yesterday Origins Microïds Pendulo Studios 2016-11-10
Watch Dogs 2 Ubisoft Ubisoft Montreal 2016-11-29
Steep Ubisoft Ubisoft Annecy 2016-12-2
Tales of Berseria BANDAI NAMCO BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment 2017-01-26
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard Capcom Capcom 2017-01-24
Conan Exiles Funcom Funcom 2017-01-31
for Honor Ubisoft Ubisoft Montreal 2017-02-14
Sniper Elite 4 Rebellion Developments Rebellion Developments 2017-02-14
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon wildlands Ubisoft Ubisoft Montreal 2017-03-07
2Dark BigBen Interactive Gloomywood 2017-03-10
Dead Rising 4 Capcom Capcom Vancouver 2017-03-14
Nier: Automata Square Enix Square Enix 2017-03-17
Mass Effect: Andromeda Electronic Arts BioWare 2017-03-21
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 CI Games CI Games 2017-04-04
Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition Gearbox Publishing People Can Fly 2017-04-07
Syberia lll Mïcroids Mïcroids 2017-04-20
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III Sega Relic Entertainment 2017-04-27
Prey Bethesda Softworks Arkane Studios 2017-05-04
Constructor (2017) System 3 System 3 2017-05-26
RiME Grey Box Tequila Works, QLOC 2017-05-26
Tekken 7 Bandai Namco Entertainment Bandai Namco Studios 2017-06-02
Hunting Simulator Bigben Interactive Neopica 2017-06-09
South Park: The Fractured but Whole Ubisoft South Park Digital Studios 2017-10-17
Agents of Mayhem Deep Silver Deep Silver Volition 2017-08-15
Sonic Mania SEGA Christian Whitehead , Headcannon, PagodaWest Games 2017-08-29
Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 KONAMI PES Productions 2017-09-13
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite Capcom Capcom 2017-09-19
WRC 7 Bigben Interactive Kylotonn Racing Games 2017-09-15
Total War: Warhammer ll SEGA Creative Assembly 2017-09-27
FIFA 18 Electronic Arts EA Canada 2017-09-28
Assassin's Creed Origins Ubisoft Ubisoft Montreal 2017-10-27
Middle-Earth: Shadow of War Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Monolith Productions 2017-10-09
Sonic Forces SEGA Sonic Team 2017-11-7
Football Manager 2018 SEGA Sports Interactive 2017-11-10
Star Wars Battlefront II Electronic Arts EA DICE 2017-11-17
Bus Simulator 18 Astragon Entertainment GmbH Stillalive Studios 2018-05-13
Shenmue I & II SEGA D3T 2018-08-21
DRAGON BALL FighterZ BANDAI NAMCO BANDAI 2018-01-26
Pro Evolution Soccer 2019 KONAMI PES Productions 2018-08-28
Two Point Hospital SEGA Two Point Studios 2018-08-30

Criticism

Denuvo has been criticised for alleged high central processing unit (CPU) usage and excessive writing operations on storage components, the latter causing significant life-span reductions for solid-state drives (SSDs). Denuvo Software Solutions has denied both claims.[45] In the case of Tekken 7 and Sonic Mania Plus, Denuvo caused a significant decrease in performance in several parts of these games.[46][47] Sam Machkovech of Ars Technica reviewed in-depth how Denuvo was causing performance penalties, releasing an article on the matter in December 2018.[48]

In July 2018, Denuvo Software Solutions filed a lawsuit against Voksi, a Bulgarian hacker who had cracked several Denuvo-protected games.[49] Voksi was arrested by Bulgarian authorities, and his website, Revolt, was taken offline.[49]

In December 2018, Joel Hruska of ExtremeTech compared the performance of multiple games with Denuvo enabled and disabled, and found that the games tested had significantly higher frame rates and lower loading times when Denuvo was not used.[50]

References

  1. ^ a b Dietrich, Martin (2 August 2017). "Kopierschutz im Faktencheck – Wie schlimm ist Denuvo wirklich?" [Copy Protection under Fact Check – How Bad Is Denuvo Really?]. GameStar (in German). Archived from the original on 30 December 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Purchese, Robert (19 December 2014). "Don't call it DRM: what's Denuvo Anti-Tamper?". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  3. ^ Taylor, Haydn (23 January 2018). "Irdeto acquires Denuvo in bid to beef up security for the games industry". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  4. ^ Taylor, Haydn (29 August 2018). "Denuvo: "There is no uncrackable game. What we do is protect the initial sales"". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 11 January 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  5. ^ Parkin, Simon (27 April 2016). "Can 'hard to crack' Denuvo win the cat-and-mouse game of PC piracy?". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 12 December 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  6. ^ a b Iwaniuk, Phil (10 February 2016). "We speak to Denuvo, whose Anti-Tamper Tech may have left piracy dead in the water". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on 2 December 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  7. ^ Plunkett, Luke (6 January 2016). "Pirates Worried That PC Games Are Becoming Too Hard To Crack". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  8. ^ Orland, Kyle (7 January 2016). "Major piracy group warns games may be crack-proof in two years". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 8 January 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  9. ^ Good, Owen S. (9 January 2016). "Piracy group nearly gives up on cracking Just Cause 3, warns of bleak future". Polygon. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  10. ^ Orland, Kyle (9 February 2016). "Game cracking group takes a year off as a "genuine sales" experiment". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  11. ^ Orland, Kyle (19 October 2017). "Denuvo's DRM now being cracked within hours of release". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  12. ^ Boudreau, Ian (4 February 2018). "Pirates claim to have finally cracked Assassin's Creed Origins". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  13. ^ a b Orland, Kyle (12 November 2018). "Hitman 2's Denuvo DRM cracked days before the game's release". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  14. ^ Fenlon, Wes (15 May 2019). "Denuvo DRM cracks seem to be happening faster and faster". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  15. ^ Thubron, Rob (15 May 2019). "Denuvo-protected games are being cracked faster than ever". Techspot. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  16. ^ Jones, Ali (16 May 2019). "Rage 2 devs "saw a few requests" to remove Denuvo, so they did". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  17. ^ Grayson, Nathan (17 May 2019). "Rage 2 Drops Denuvo DRM In Record Time". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 20 May 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  18. ^ O'Connor, Alice (22 March 2019). "Do vu no? Denuvo making Anti-Cheat". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  19. ^ Frank, Allegra (12 October 2017). "It took just 24 hours to crack Shadow of War's DRM". Polygon. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  20. ^ Leack, Jonathan (6 January 2016). "Notorious Game Pirate Warns Imminent Death of Game Piracy As Encryption Succeeds". GameRevolution.
  21. ^ Purchese, Robert (8 January 2016). "Finally, tide turns in war with PC game crackers". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  22. ^ "Denuvo DRM has been cracked - PC Invasion". Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  23. ^ "New DRM By Denuvo Challenges Game Crackers". megagames.com. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  24. ^ Judge, Mark. "Dragon Age Inquisition uses the impressive Denuvo DRM". LoadTheGame. LoadTheGame.
  25. ^ Papadopoulos, John. "Dragon Age: Inquisition Uses Denuvo's DRM, Same Protection Used In Lords of the Fallen & FIFA 15". Dark Side of Gaming. Dark Side of Gaming.
  26. ^ "The PC version of this Software uses Origin Online Activation and Sony DADC Austria AG’s Denuvo content protection technology" Template:Wayback Battlefield Hardline EULA.
  27. ^ Shahid, Furqan. "PC Version of Batman Arkham Knight Uses Denuvo". TechJeep. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  28. ^ a b Papadopoulos, John. "Mad Max & Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Are Both Powered By Denuvo Anti-Tamper Tech". DSOGaming. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  29. ^ "Chinese game cracking group: 'Denuvo copy protection uncrackable within 2 years' - Myce.com". Myce.com. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  30. ^ "THE PRODUCT IS PROTECTED BY DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE (“DRM SOFTWARE”) AND DENUVO ANTI-TAMPER PROTECTION TECHNOLOGY (“ANTI-TAMPER TECHNOLOGY”)" Anno 2205 Primal EULA.
  31. ^ Game was originally released without Denuvo protection.
  32. ^ "The PC version of this Software uses Origin Online Activation and Sony DADC Austria AG’s Denuvo content protection technology" Star Wars Battlefront EULA.
  33. ^ "EULA". Square Enix. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  34. ^ "Far Cry: Primal & Rise of the Tomb Raider Will Be Protected By The Denuvo Anti-Tamper Tech" Far Cry: Primal & Rise of the Tomb Raider Will Be Protected By The Denuvo Anti-Tamper Tech
  35. ^ Klepek, Patrick (17 February 2016). "The Anti-Piracy Tech That's Giving Hackers Fits". Kotaku. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  36. ^ "ELECTRONIC ARTS SOFTWARE END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT PLANTS VS. ZOMBIES GARDEN WARFARE 2" (PDF). Electronic Arts. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  37. ^ "THE PRODUCT IS PROTECTED BY DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE (“DRM SOFTWARE”) AND DENUVO ANTI-TAMPER PROTECTION TECHNOLOGY (“ANTI-TAMPER TECHNOLOGY”)" Far Cry Primal EULA.
  38. ^ "HITMAN (2016) BETA TRIAL AGREEMENT". Steam. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  39. ^ Need For Speed EULA. "THE PRODUCT IS PROTECTED BY DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE ("DRM SOFTWARE") AND DENUVO ANTI-TAMPER PROTECTION TECHNOLOGY ("ANTI-TAMPER TECHNOLOGY"" (PDF).
  40. ^ "Support Page". Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  41. ^ Scanning EXE File ADR1FT Game. "scanning EXE File ADR1FT Game with ProtectioId675,that show,Game use Denuvo". Archived from the original on 11 April 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  42. ^ "Support Page". Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  43. ^ Scanning EXE File DOOM. ""scanning EXE File DOOM Game with ProtectioId675,that show,Game use Denuvo."". Archived from the original on 3 June 2016.
  44. ^ "Steam". Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  45. ^ Lemon, Marshall (4 September 2018). "Two Point Hospital no longer uses Denuvo DRM". VG247. Archived from the original on 28 October 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  46. ^ Vazquez, Suriel (15 April 2018). "DRM Software Causing Performance Issues In PC Version Of Tekken 7, Says Producer". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 21 May 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  47. ^ Leri, Michael (20 July 2018). "Sonic Mania Plus DRM Protection Slowing Down Legitimate Copies". GameRevolution. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  48. ^ Machkovech, Sam (26 December 2018). "Evidence continues to mount about how bad Denuvo is for PC gaming performance". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  49. ^ a b Cito, Arne (26 July 2018). "Denuvo files lawsuit against DRM Hacker "Voksi"". GameZone. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  50. ^ Hruska, Joel (26 December 2018). "Denuvo Really Does Cripple PC Gaming Performance". ExtremeTech. Archived from the original on 9 November 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
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