Denuvo facts for kids
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| Developer(s) | Denuvo Software Solutions GmbH |
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| Initial release | 2014 |
| Platform | Windows |
| Type | Digital rights management |
| License | Proprietary |
Denuvo Anti-Tamper is a special computer program. It helps protect video games and other software. Its main job is to stop people from illegally copying or changing games. This system is also known as digital rights management (DRM). It was created by an Austrian company called Denuvo Software Solutions GmbH.
Contents
What is Denuvo Anti-Tamper?
Denuvo Anti-Tamper is like a security guard for video games. It tries to prevent people from making copies of games without paying. It also stops them from changing the game's code. This helps game developers protect their hard work. The company that makes Denuvo also created other security tools. These include Denuvo Anti-Cheat, which stops cheating in online games. They also made Nintendo Switch Emulator Protection. This system tries to prevent Nintendo Switch games from being played on computer programs called emulators.
How Denuvo Started
Denuvo Software Solutions GmbH is based in Salzburg, Austria. The company started in 2014. It was formed by people who used to work for DigitalWorks. That company made an older protection system called SecuROM.
The first game to use Denuvo was FIFA 15. This popular soccer game came out in September 2014. In January 2018, a larger software company called Irdeto bought Denuvo Software Solutions.
Early Challenges for Denuvo
When Denuvo first came out, some groups tried to "crack" its protection. Cracking means finding ways to bypass the security. A Chinese group called 3DM claimed they could crack Denuvo in December 2014. They said they would release cracked versions of games like FIFA 15 and Dragon Age: Inquisition.
It took them about a month to crack Dragon Age: Inquisition. This was a very long time for game cracking back then. Denuvo Software Solutions knew that eventually, all protected games might be cracked. However, many game sales happen in the first month after a game is released. So, if Denuvo could protect a game for that long, it was still a success for the game makers.
In January 2016, 3DM's leader, Bird Sister, said they might give up on cracking Denuvo. She even warned that there might be "no free games to play" in the future. 3DM then stopped cracking games for a year. They wanted to see if this would help game sales. Denuvo's marketing director said that because of Denuvo, some games that were only on consoles also came out on PC.
Denuvo's Protection Over Time
By October 2017, some crackers became much faster. They could bypass Denuvo's protection within hours of a game's release. Games like South Park: The Fractured but Whole and FIFA 18 were cracked on their release day.
In another case, Assassin's Creed Origins had Denuvo protection. It also used other security tools. Crackers managed to bypass its security in February 2018. This was three months after the game came out. In December 2018, Hitman 2 was cracked even before its official release date. This happened because people who pre-ordered could play it early.
By 2019, many games were cracked within a week of their release. These included Devil May Cry 5 and Resident Evil 2. A game called Rage 2 had an interesting situation. The version sold on Steam had Denuvo. But the version sold on Bethesda Softworks' own launcher did not. This meant the game was cracked right away. Denuvo was then removed from the Steam version two days later.
Other Denuvo Products
In March 2019, Denuvo announced a new product called Denuvo Anti-Cheat. This system helps stop players from cheating in online games. It was first used in Doom Eternal in May 2020. However, players did not like it, and it was removed within a week.
In August 2022, Irdeto announced Nintendo Switch Emulator Protection. This system is for Nintendo Switch games. It tries to stop people from playing these games on computer emulators like Yuzu. Many Nintendo Switch owners were worried about this. They thought it might make their games run slower. Denuvo said that the system would not affect game performance on real Nintendo Switch consoles. This system was released in August 2023.
How Denuvo Technology Works
Games that use Denuvo usually need an online activation. This means you need to connect to the internet when you first start the game. A Denuvo cracker named Empress explained how it works. She said that Denuvo gives each copy of a game a special code. This code is unique to your computer's parts, like its hardware.
The Denuvo protection is built right into the game's main code. This makes it very difficult for people to remove or get around it.
See also
In Spanish: Denuvo para niños
