- Pearl Abyss has added Denuvo DRM to Crimson Desert, a week before the game's release.
- The anti-piracy software has a reputation for causing performance troubles, and its addition has left PC players disappointed.
- In a heated discussion about the matter, some fans revealed that they're canceling their pre-orders.
If there are two things PC gamers can’t stand the sight of, it’s Unreal Engine 5 and Denuvo DRM. Both are infamous for causing performance issues across a wide range of titles. So, you can imagine the community’s disappointment when it learned that Pearl Abyss had sneakily added Denuvo Anti-Tamper to Crimson Desert – just a week before the game’s release.
The highly anticipated action-adventure title is all set to launch on March 19, and up until today, players were quite optimistic about the game’s PC optimization. Crimson Desert’s official system requirements also painted a positive picture with its modest hardware demands. But that initial optimism appears to have soured after fans learned about the inclusion of third-party DRM.
Fans Disappointed as Crimson Desert Gets Denuvo a Week Before Launch
As spotted by users online, if you head over to Crimson Desert’s update history on SteamDB, you’ll find this new entry: “Added 3rd-Party DRM – Denuvo Anti-tamper, 5 different PC within a day machine activation limit.” At the risk of stating the obvious, the changelog confirms that Crimson Desert will indeed have Denuvo Anti-tamper software at launch.
Shortly after the discovery was made, dozens of angry fans flocked to a Steam discussion thread to express their annoyance. “DENUVO = preorder instantly aggressively cancelled!!!,” said one enraged user, while another player replied, “Thanks for the heads up, I’m not paying for trash DRM crapware.”
As mentioned at the start, the ire around Denuvo can be chalked up to claims of the DRM causing performance issues. In some cases, these claims seem legitimate. In others, the third-party software appears more like a scapegoat for poor optimization. Nonetheless, a majority of PC players would prefer that Denuvo weren’t part of the equation.
From a developer’s standpoint, Denuvo is the most prominent anti-piracy software out there. Games reinforced with the DRM’s latest version tend to remain uncracked for years, unless you’re willing to experiment with the highly risky Hypervisor route. Naturally, this measure should ensure that Crimson Desert won’t fall victim to piracy at launch, but it’ll be interesting to see whether the anti-tamper software stirs up performance troubles.
How do you feel about Crimson Desert adding Denuvo? Let us know in the comments.
