id software, the developer of frantic FPS action title, Rage 2, has announced that it's ditching Denuvo anti-tamper protection less than a week after the game's release. This is because an unprotected version of the game's launcher was distributed, allowing crackers to get around the game's DRM systems within hours of its debut, making Denuvo completely redundant.
Considering how much it's disliked by most gamers, removing Denuvo seems like a smart plan for id. This came in part because id reportedly saw a "few requests" from gamers to do so, though you have to imagine that the game being cracked was a larger part to play in that decision.
This is rather typical of most developers though. The main purpose of Denuvo — and what it's typically advertised as being great at — is in blocking pirates from downloading the game illegally in the days and weeks that follow its release. With Rage 2, that was completely ineffective, so what may have been a plan to remove Denuvo after a few weeks has turned into removing it after a few days.
This will be good news to gamers who dislike the feature and will no doubt contribute to some sales of the game moving forward. Its Rage 2's quality which will be its longstanding sale factor then, rather than what DRM it has. That's a good thing.
It could be largely common in games moving forward too, as Denuvo has proved increasingly ineffective in recent months, suggesting it may not be the darling of the DRM crowd that it once was for much longer.
