<s>
Denuvo	B-Application
Anti-Tamper	I-Application
is	O
an	O
anti-tamper	O
technology	O
and	O
digital	O
rights	O
management	O
(	O
DRM	O
)	O
system	O
developed	O
by	O
Austrian	O
software	O
company	O
Denuvo	B-Application
Software	I-Application
Solutions	I-Application
GmbH	I-Application
,	O
a	O
subsidiary	O
of	O
Irdeto	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Denuvo	B-Application
is	O
developed	O
by	O
Denuvo	B-Application
Software	I-Application
Solutions	I-Application
GmbH	I-Application
,	O
a	O
software	O
company	O
based	O
in	O
Salzburg	O
,	O
Austria	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
was	O
formed	O
through	O
a	O
management	O
buyout	O
of	O
DigitalWorks	O
,	O
the	O
arm	O
of	O
the	O
Sony	O
Digital	O
Audio	O
Disc	O
Corporation	O
that	O
developed	O
the	O
SecuROM	B-Operating_System
DRM	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
of	O
the	O
Denuvo	B-Application
software	O
started	O
in	O
2014	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FIFA	B-Application
15	I-Application
,	O
released	O
in	O
September	O
2014	O
,	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
game	O
to	O
use	O
Denuvo	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
3DM	O
,	O
a	O
Chinese	O
warez	B-Application
group	I-Application
,	O
first	O
claimed	O
to	O
have	O
breached	O
Denuvo	B-Application
's	O
technology	O
in	O
a	O
blog	O
post	O
published	O
on	O
1	O
December	O
2014	O
,	O
wherein	O
they	O
announced	O
that	O
they	O
would	O
release	O
cracked	O
versions	O
of	O
Denuvo-protected	O
games	O
FIFA	B-Application
15	I-Application
,	O
Dragon	B-Application
Age	I-Application
:	I-Application
Inquisition	I-Application
and	O
Lords	B-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Fallen	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
onto	O
this	O
,	O
3DM	O
released	O
the	O
version	O
of	O
Dragon	B-Application
Age	I-Application
:	I-Application
Inquisition	I-Application
about	O
two	O
weeks	O
after	O
that	O
game	O
had	O
shipped	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
asked	O
about	O
this	O
development	O
,	O
Denuvo	B-Application
Software	O
Solutions	O
acknowledged	O
that	O
"	O
every	O
protected	O
game	O
eventually	O
gets	O
cracked	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
technology	O
website	O
Ars	O
Technica	O
noted	O
that	O
most	O
sales	O
for	O
major	O
games	O
happen	O
within	O
30	O
days	O
of	O
release	O
,	O
and	O
so	O
publishers	O
may	O
consider	O
Denuvo	B-Application
a	O
success	O
if	O
it	O
meant	O
a	O
game	O
took	O
significantly	O
longer	O
to	O
be	O
cracked	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2016	O
,	O
3DM	O
's	O
founder	O
,	O
Bird	O
Sister	O
,	O
revealed	O
that	O
they	O
were	O
to	O
give	O
up	O
on	O
trying	O
to	O
break	O
the	O
Denuvo	B-Application
implementation	O
for	O
Just	B-Application
Cause	I-Application
3	I-Application
,	O
and	O
warned	O
that	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
ongoing	O
trend	O
for	O
the	O
implementation	O
,	O
there	O
would	O
be	O
"	O
no	O
free	O
games	O
to	O
play	O
in	O
the	O
world	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
near	O
future	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Denuvo	B-Application
's	O
marketing	O
director	O
,	O
Thomas	O
Goebl	O
,	O
claimed	O
that	O
some	O
console-exclusive	O
games	O
get	O
PC	O
releases	O
due	O
to	O
this	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
October	O
2017	O
,	O
crackers	O
were	O
able	O
to	O
bypass	O
Denuvo	B-Application
's	O
protection	O
within	O
hours	O
of	O
a	O
game	O
's	O
release	O
,	O
with	O
notable	O
examples	O
being	O
South	B-Application
Park	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Fractured	I-Application
but	I-Application
Whole	I-Application
,	O
Middle-earth	B-Application
:	I-Application
Shadow	I-Application
of	I-Application
War	I-Application
,	O
Total	B-Application
War	I-Application
:	I-Application
Warhammer	I-Application
2	I-Application
and	O
FIFA	B-Application
18	I-Application
,	O
all	O
being	O
cracked	O
on	O
their	O
release	O
dates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
another	O
notable	O
case	O
,	O
Assassin	B-Application
's	I-Application
Creed	I-Application
Origins	I-Application
,	O
which	O
wrapped	O
Denuvo	B-Application
within	O
security	O
tool	O
VMProtect	B-Application
as	O
well	O
as	O
Ubisoft	O
's	O
proprietary	B-Application
DRM	O
used	O
for	O
their	O
Uplay	B-Operating_System
distribution	O
software	O
,	O
had	O
its	O
security	O
features	O
bypassed	O
by	O
Italian	O
collective	O
CPY	O
in	O
February	O
2018	O
,	O
three	O
months	O
after	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2018	O
,	O
Hitman	B-Application
2	I-Application
protection	O
was	O
bypassed	O
three	O
days	O
before	O
its	O
official	O
release	O
date	O
due	O
to	O
exclusive	O
pre-order	O
access	O
,	O
drawing	O
comparisons	O
to	O
Final	B-Application
Fantasy	I-Application
XV	I-Application
,	O
which	O
had	O
its	O
protection	O
removed	O
four	O
days	O
before	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
2019	O
,	O
several	O
products	O
like	O
Devil	B-Application
May	I-Application
Cry	I-Application
5	I-Application
,	O
Metro	B-Application
Exodus	I-Application
,	O
Resident	B-Application
Evil	I-Application
2	I-Application
,	O
Far	B-Application
Cry	I-Application
New	I-Application
Dawn	I-Application
,	O
Football	B-Application
Manager	I-Application
2019	I-Application
and	O
Soul	B-Application
Calibur	I-Application
6	I-Application
,	O
were	O
cracked	O
within	O
their	O
first	O
week	O
of	O
release	O
,	O
with	O
Ace	O
Combat	O
7	O
taking	O
thirteen	O
days	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
case	O
of	O
Rage	B-Application
2	I-Application
,	O
which	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
Steam	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
Bethesda	O
Softworks	O
 '	O
own	O
Bethesda	O
Launcher	O
,	O
the	O
Steam	O
version	O
was	O
protected	O
by	O
Denuvo	B-Application
,	O
whereas	O
the	O
Bethesda	O
Launcher	O
version	O
was	O
not	O
,	O
leading	O
to	O
the	O
game	O
being	O
cracked	O
immediately	O
,	O
and	O
Denuvo	B-Application
being	O
removed	O
from	O
the	O
Steam	O
release	O
two	O
days	O
later	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
sister	O
product	O
,	O
Denuvo	B-Application
Anti-Cheat	O
,	O
was	O
announced	O
in	O
March	O
2019	O
,	O
and	O
first	O
used	O
with	O
Doom	B-Application
Eternal	I-Application
following	O
a	O
patch	O
on	O
14	O
May	O
2020	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
August	O
24th	O
,	O
2022	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
announced	O
that	O
Denuvo	B-Application
had	O
developed	O
"	O
Nintendo	O
Switch	O
Emulator	O
Protection	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
new	O
digital	O
rights	O
management	O
solution	O
for	O
Nintendo	O
Switch	O
titles	O
which	O
aims	O
to	O
allow	O
developers	O
to	O
block	O
play	O
via	O
emulators	O
such	O
as	O
Yuzu	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Games	O
protected	O
by	O
Denuvo	B-Application
require	O
an	O
online	O
activation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Empress	O
,	O
a	O
notable	O
Denuvo	B-Application
cracker	O
,	O
the	O
software	O
assigns	O
a	O
unique	O
authentication	O
token	O
to	O
each	O
copy	O
of	O
a	O
game	O
,	O
depending	O
on	O
factors	O
like	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Denuvo	B-Application
has	O
been	O
criticised	O
for	O
high	O
CPU	B-Device
usage	O
and	O
excessive	O
writing	O
operations	O
on	O
storage	O
components	O
,	O
the	O
latter	O
potentially	O
causing	O
significant	O
life-span	O
reductions	O
for	O
solid-state	B-Device
drives	I-Device
(	O
SSDs	B-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Denuvo	B-Application
Software	O
Solutions	O
has	O
denied	O
both	O
claims	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
case	O
of	O
Tekken	B-Application
7	I-Application
and	O
Sonic	O
Mania	O
Plus	O
,	O
Denuvo	B-Application
caused	O
a	O
significant	O
decrease	O
in	O
performance	O
in	O
several	O
parts	O
of	O
these	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sam	O
Machkovech	O
of	O
Ars	O
Technica	O
reviewed	O
in-depth	O
how	O
Denuvo	B-Application
was	O
causing	O
performance	O
penalties	O
,	O
releasing	O
an	O
article	O
on	O
the	O
matter	O
in	O
December	O
2018	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2018	O
,	O
Joel	O
Hruska	O
of	O
ExtremeTech	O
compared	O
the	O
performance	O
of	O
multiple	O
games	O
with	O
Denuvo	B-Application
enabled	O
and	O
disabled	O
,	O
and	O
found	O
that	O
the	O
games	O
tested	O
had	O
significantly	O
higher	O
frame	O
rates	O
and	O
lower	O
loading	O
times	O
when	O
Denuvo	B-Application
was	O
not	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Richard	O
Leadbetter	O
of	O
Digital	O
Foundry	O
compared	O
the	O
performance	O
of	O
a	O
pirated	O
version	O
of	O
Resident	B-Application
Evil	I-Application
Village	I-Application
which	O
had	O
stripped	O
out	O
Denuvo	B-Application
and	O
Capcom	O
's	O
additional	O
copy	O
protection	O
against	O
the	O
release	O
version	O
for	O
Windows	O
,	O
and	O
found	O
that	O
the	O
DRM-stripped	O
version	O
performed	O
far	O
better	O
than	O
the	O
released	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2018	O
,	O
Denuvo	B-Application
Software	O
Solutions	O
filed	O
a	O
lawsuit	O
against	O
Voksi	O
,	O
a	O
21-year-old	O
Bulgarian	O
hacker	O
who	O
had	O
cracked	O
several	O
Denuvo-protected	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2020	O
,	O
Kaspersky	B-Application
Anti-Virus	I-Application
detected	O
the	O
now	O
removed	O
Denuvo	B-Application
Anti-Cheat	O
implementation	O
in	O
Doom	B-Application
Eternal	I-Application
as	O
malware	O
,	O
possibly	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
kernel-level	O
access	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
2021	O
,	O
many	O
recent	O
games	O
using	O
Denuvo	B-Application
were	O
rendered	O
unplayable	O
,	O
reportedly	O
due	O
to	O
a	O
Denuvo	B-Application
owned	O
domain	O
name	O
expiring	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
same	O
month	O
it	O
was	O
discovered	O
that	O
many	O
Denuvo	B-Application
games	O
would	O
not	O
work	O
with	O
Intel	O
12th	O
Gen	O
Alder	B-Device
Lake	I-Device
CPUs	B-Device
in	O
either	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
or	O
Windows	B-Application
11	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
as	O
of	O
January	O
12	O
2022	O
,	O
the	O
Alder	B-Device
Lake	I-Device
incompatibility	O
issue	O
has	O
been	O
addressed	O
,	O
bringing	O
the	O
list	O
of	O
90	O
incompatible	O
titles	O
down	O
to	O
zero	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
of	O
2022	O
,	O
Nintendo	O
Switch	O
owners	O
on	O
social	O
media	O
widely	O
criticized	O
the	O
announcement	O
of	O
the	O
"	O
Nintendo	O
Switch	O
Emulator	O
Protection	O
"	O
intended	O
to	O
prevent	O
play	O
of	O
Switch	O
games	O
on	O
emulators	O
,	O
expressing	O
concerns	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
hinder	O
software	O
performance	O
,	O
citing	O
Denuvo	B-Application
DRM	O
's	O
history	O
of	O
being	O
reported	O
as	O
impacting	O
PC	O
gaming	O
performance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Denuvo	B-Application
said	O
in	O
statements	O
to	O
the	O
press	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
not	O
negatively	O
impact	O
performance	O
of	O
Switch	O
games	O
for	O
those	O
playing	O
on	O
real	O
console	O
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Denuvo	B-Application
declined	O
to	O
disclose	O
the	O
names	O
of	O
any	O
other	O
companies	O
involved	O
,	O
but	O
claimed	O
that	O
Nintendo	O
was	O
"	O
not	O
involved	O
"	O
and	O
said	O
there	O
had	O
been	O
"	O
strong	O
demand	O
"	O
from	O
software	O
publishers	O
for	O
such	O
a	O
solution	O
,	O
to	O
preclude	O
piracy	O
of	O
Nintendo	O
Switch	O
games	O
enabled	O
through	O
emulation	O
.	O
</s>
