Denuvo's product manager, Andreas Ullmann, recently defended the company's anti-piracy software, addressing long-standing criticism from the gaming community.
Denuvo Addresses Performance Concerns and Misinformation
In a recent interview with Rock, Paper, Shotgun, Ullmann acknowledged the strong negative reaction from gamers towards Denuvo's anti-tamper DRM. He characterized this response as "very toxic," attributing much of the criticism, particularly regarding performance impacts, to misinformation and confirmation bias.
Denuvo's DRM is used by major publishers, including in recent titles like Final Fantasy 16, to protect against piracy. However, gamers frequently claim the DRM negatively affects performance, often citing anecdotal evidence or unverified benchmarks. Ullmann countered this, stating that cracked game versions still contain Denuvo's code, and often additional code on top, leading to performance issues in the cracked version, not the original. "The cracks, they don’t remove our protection," he stated. "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."
While Ullmann didn't deny that Denuvo can negatively impact performance in some cases (citing Tekken 7 as an example), he pointed to the company's FAQ on Discord, which claims Anti-Tamper has no perceptible performance effect. This discrepancy between Ullmann's statement and the FAQ requires clarification.
Denuvo's Negative Reputation and Discord Shutdown
Ullmann, himself a gamer, acknowledged gamer frustration with DRM, noting that the immediate benefits aren't always apparent to players. He highlighted the significant benefits for developers, citing studies showing a 20% revenue increase in games with effective DRM due to reduced early piracy. He argued that misinformation from the piracy community has fueled misunderstandings, urging gamers to consider Denuvo's contribution to the industry before dismissing it. He emphasized the long-term benefits for players: more successful games lead to longer update cycles, more content, and increased likelihood of sequels.
Denuvo's attempt to improve communication by launching a public Discord server in October 2024 backfired spectacularly. Overwhelmed by a flood of anti-DRM memes and complaints, the server's main chat was shut down within two days, temporarily reverting to read-only mode. Despite this setback, Ullmann remains committed to improving communication with the gaming community, planning to expand their outreach to platforms like Reddit and Steam forums.
Whether these transparency efforts will change gamer perceptions remains to be seen, but Denuvo's aim is clearly to foster more constructive dialogue. As Ullmann stated, "This is exactly what we are looking for. Having honest, nice conversations with people. Talking about what we all love, which is gaming."
