For several years now, Denuvo has been a name that has seen a lot of mixed opinion from PC players. Their tech has been utilized in multiple major releases and is aimed at either stopping software tampering or cheating. How effective that has been, and what it’s sacrificed is a big debate, but it seems as if they are now aiming for the console space, specifically Sony’s latest box. 

As reported by VGC, the company issued a press release to say that Denuvo Anti-Cheat is now being offered to publishers and developers for the PS5 through the Tools and Middleware program. In it they claim that any gameplay experience impact to actual players will be minimal and that it will help stop cheating in the key launch period of a game. It’s worth keeping in mind that this is different than Denuvo’s Anti-Tamper tech that is often seen in PC titles that seems to cause the most controversy. But the Anti-Cheat version has had its issues in the past as well.

It’s hard to say how they will work out and what the implementation of this would look like on a console. The common criticisms aimed at Denuvo is that it often impacts performance in a game, more so Anti-Tamper than Anti-Cheat, but that claim has been levied against both. 

Yesterday, Sega confirmed that Yakuza Kiwami will be launching on Steam next month. Now, we also know that, unlike the case with the PC versions of some other majorly anticipated games, the PC version of Yakuza Kiwami will not leverage Denuvo DRM when it launches.

As of right now, the Steam database specifies that Yakuza Kiwami will not have Denuvo, and that the developers have actually removed it. This is corroborated by the game’s store page, which also similarly does not specify an implementation of Denuvo DRM.

Now, to be clear, it is entirely possible that this changes in the lead up to the game’s launch, and that Denuvo is added back in at the last minute. We have seen this happen previously. However, for now, it seems like the game won’t apply the invasive anti-tamper tech, which is enough cause to give Sega credit.

Yakuza Kiwami is out now on PS4. Make sure to check out our review for it.

When Metro: Exodus launches next month, PC players will have to contend with the controversial Denuvo anti-tamper technology, a digital rights management suite that publishers often use to little effect in PC versions of their games.

The the Steam store page for Metro Exodus was updated by 4A Games and Deep Silver today, and it now very clearly notes that the game will use Denuvo. Presuming that the game eventually launches on GOG much like its predecessors did, or that it does what so many other games often do, and removes Denuvo after a few days have passed, we will eventually be able to get a version that’s DRM free, but for now, this is the only option you have.

That said, given everything we know about the game, hopefully Denuvo won’t keep paying players away from the game. The news about the game having player choices leading to multiple endings, for instance, as well as its wide linear level design, make it sound like it will truly be a game that stands out in the genre when it launches for PC, PS4, and Xbox One on February 15.

Capcom has gone ahead and done the right thing by removing Denuvo anti tamper technology implementation from the PC version of Mega Man 11. Denuvo is a popular DRM solution used by many PC games, which is regardless detested by the PC gaming community.

A lot of PC developers and publishers often remove Denuvo from their games a few days or weeks after it has launched, mostly since deterrence for pirates is only meant to be for around launch, and Denuvo ends up being cracked eventually anyways, meaning paying customers are the ones who are ultimately inconvenienced, being straddled by it for no reason. So, after reports earlier today that Mega Man 11’s Denuvo implementation had been cracked, Capcom decided to simply remove Denuvo from the Steam version of the game (you will see the Steam page of the game no longer lists Denuvo among its DRM implementations). Which is great on them, and the kind of thing more publishers and developers should look at doing.

Mega Man 11 is out now on Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

In keeping with the tradition of mot high profile PC releases employing it, the PC version of the upcoming Far Cry 5 will use Denuvo Anti Tamper. The highly controversial DRM solution’s effectiveness remains up in the air, but for now, several companies, including Ubisoft (who previously used it in Assassin’s Creed Origins as well) continue to abide by it.

This news comes to us courtesy of DSO Gaming, who discovered this by scouring the PC version’s EULA- you can actually go and check it out for yourself here. Incredibly enough, the agreement seems to imply that there will be additional DRM on the game apart from Denuvo. Overkill there, Ubisoft? Then again, we shouldn’t be surprised, since they did this exact thing with Origins too.

Far Cry 5 is due to launch on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC in March. It will be the first game in the series to be based in the US.

Sega’s critically acclaimed Sonic Mania witnessed its fair share of annoyance when it was revealed that it used Denuvo, a form of DRM technology, on PC. Not only was it not mentioned on the game’s Steam page but the game was unplayable offline as a result.

Sega issued a statement on the Steam page not mentioning that Sonic Mania had DRM and noted that it was in the process of fixing it (which it’s since done). It also noted that, “Sonic Mania is intended to be played offline and we’re investigating reports on that.

“We’re also investigating other issues like controller support; these are all PC specific things that Christian [Whitehead, Mania’s project lead] and the team have been working on these last few weeks. Please bear with us while we collate and investigate problems that are being brought to our attention.”

The Twitter for Sega Europe has since revealed that playing offline is now possible but Denuvo won’t be removed any time soon which seems to be a bigger issue for many fans. Denuvo has been the go to DRM solution for many triple-A games in the past few years including DOOM and the upcoming Life is Strange: Before The Storm. How this will impact PC sales for Sonic Mania remains to be seen.

https://twitter.com/SEGA_Europe/status/902901749828255748