The first Denuvo DRM-protected game was released nearly a decade ago, but the service remains controversial. PC gamers are long accustomed to Denuvo, but console gamers may soon be added to the list of impacted players.
Denuvo DRM has revealed that it’s going to be coming to the Nintendo Switch. The move is in an attempt to help control the piracy of NintendoSwitchgames while having “no impact on the gaming experience.”
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Denuvo DRM, to anyone not in the know, is a type of anti-piracy technology that runs alongside a game when it boots up. Denuvo DRM is designed to ensure that the software is legitimate, and blocks anything that has been tampered with in some way from the original release. Running pirated software on the Switch itself isn’t as common as it is on PC, given the Switch has its own failsafes and hacking or otherwise altering the Switch may result in being banned from the online service. Instead, Denuvo DRM is hoping to prevent pirated copies of Switch games from being played on emulators via PC.
The Denuvo press release states that its new anti-piracy software will “integrate seamlessly into the build toolchain… It then allows for the insertion of checks into the code, which blocksgameplay on emulators.” Denuvo refers to this as a “revolutionary technology,” so there may be some differences from the PC version of the anti-piracy DRM players have come to know.
The move may not come as too much of a surprise to long-time Nintendo fans, as the developer and publisher has cracked down on piracy tremendously in recent years. Multiple emulator and game-hosting sites have been taken down, and some have evengone to jail for sharing Nintendo’s gameson the internet. In theory, Denuvo DRM could help to prevent the files from being playable, even if they’re shared online.
However, there are likely concerns within the gaming community. While Denuvo claims to have no impact on gameplay, some who have experienced Denvuo DRM on PC games have said otherwise, claiming that gameplay lag and frame rate dips are due to the attached technology. There have also been stories covering howgames' DRM have been crackedshortly following a game’s release to the public. For the time being, Nintendo Switch fans will have to wait and see what - if any - impact this has on their gameplay experience. With any luck, the addition of Denuvo anti-piracy DRM to the Nintendo Switch will have no impact on players as promised, while protecting Nintendo’s assets.
