Why does this still have denuvo?

[九芫一]

3 is out now, yeah?

[Elitewrecker PT]

Same question for wh1, but more than wh3 being out, is that the game has been fully cracked years ago,

[waTTe]

Yes - remove that malware.

[CaoLex]

Indeed, even tiny bit of extra perfomance will be helpfull.
Maybe they keep it as a multiplayer anti-cheat?

[veracsthane]

Originally posted by CaoLex:

Indeed, even tiny bit of extra perfomance will be helpfull.
Maybe they keep it as a multiplayer anti-cheat?

denuvo isnt an anti cheat its a drm digital rights manger aka anti piracy that kills the games performance

[CaoLex]

Originally posted by veracsthane:

Originally posted by CaoLex:

Indeed, even tiny bit of extra perfomance will be helpfull.
Maybe they keep it as a multiplayer anti-cheat?

denuvo isnt an anti cheat its a drm digital rights manger aka anti piracy that kills the games performance

Denuvo Anti-Tamper...

[lukaself]

Originally posted by 九芫一:

3 is out now, yeah?

Probably because SEGA is not using Denuvo as an anti-piracy tool but rather as a way to implement software-based planned obsolescence,[en.wikipedia.org] like EA does. SEGA and EA have been copying each other's business strategies out ever since the days of the Megadrive/Genesis. As they're obviously aware Denuvo does not stop any piracy right now, it's only used as convenient scapegoat to justify their profit-driven yet otherwise unconscionable practices.

[Elitewrecker PT]

Is wh3 cracked yet?

[lukaself]

Originally posted by Elitewrecker PT:

Is wh3 cracked yet?

Probably not, since illegitimate consumption moved to buying offline activated games for less than a dollar, which is way more convenient for pirates, less time-consuming for hackers than cracking Denuvo and leagues more profitable.

That said, should paying customers have to concern themselves with what pirates do, frankly?

[Elitewrecker PT]

Not really. But it at least means it sometimes works to prevent piracy, at least when it’s not an extremely high notoriety game

[lukaself]

Originally posted by Elitewrecker PT:

Not really. But it at least means it sometimes works to prevent piracy, at least when it’s not an extremely high notoriety game

As I mentioned in my previous comment, Denuvo only prevents a game from being cracked, not from being pirated. The actual reason we don't see cracks anymore is because pirates found a more convenient and lucrative way to provide the game illegitimately.

[Elitewrecker PT]

Does offline account sharing represent the biggest portion of piracy now?
Besides, i've seen that type of sharing as an option for purchases on g2a and kinguin, for definitely not under a dollar.
Cheaper than legit purchases yes, but still a not-negligible price. And imo, between paying 30% of the price for the login credentials of an accoubt with the game and not being able to use the online features, or just 50% for a legit key for example, is that really a better option?

[lukaself]

Originally posted by Elitewrecker PT:

Does offline account sharing represent the biggest portion of piracy now?

Only for Denuvo titles but does that matter if we don't have any point of comparison from before? Depending on the biases of who you're asking, piracy of Denuvo titles was either inconsequential or the worst thing to happen to gaming since the third Reich. Just like before, piracy being an underground economy, we have basically no way to tell.

It seems like there's some confusion here: Kinguin only deal in account selling, which, while controversial to some, operates as a legitimate business. In contrast, websites offering offline activations are engaging in piracy. These services bypass Denuvo’s online checks without the need to crack them, typically selling access to games for less than a dollar, especially older titles. I’ve never seen an offline activation cost more than $5, a third of the price would be unreasonable for what amounts to a short-term "rental" of an illegal copy.

From a practical standpoint, these services are actually more appealing to pirates than cracking Denuvo games. They get it immediately on release instead of waiting for the scene to crack the game, the activation is instant due to most of the process being automated, users benefit from Steam’s offline mode, and the price is so low it’s nearly free. This also creates a financial incentive for hackers, leading to a more consistent flow of pirated content compared to the past, where cracks were developed by a small group of enthusiasts working in their spare time. Some of these services even offer customer support, and since piracy of Western games and software is even encouraged in Russia to counteract the sanctions imposed by Western countries, they're difficult to stop.

What’s ironic is that many pirates are now willing to pay for these offline activation services rather than buying directly from publishers. This mirrors the unintended consequences of the War on Drugs—escalating enforcement can lead to more sophisticated methods and a deeper entrenchment of the illegal market.

Ultimately, the gaming industry’s heavy-handed focus on combating piracy, rather than improving the experience for paying customers, has contributed to the rise of this underground economy. In the process, publishers haven't gained much, and the overall gaming landscape may have suffered as a result. As always, us paying customers end up being the ones having to shoulder the weight.

Last minute note: As a matter of fact, the number of titles with Denuvo is down 45% compared to last year with barely 30 titles out of 13898 released so far. https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Denuvo#List_of_games_using_Denuvo_Anti-Tamper

[CaoLex]

Originally posted by lukaself:

Depending on the biases of who you're asking, piracy of Denuvo titles was either inconsequential or the worst thing to happen to gaming since the third Reich.

SecuRom isn't a Third Reich.
Anyway, you really should see piracy and Denuvo as a separate issue even if second is designed to combat the first. Simple because issues of it's implementation.

Originally posted by lukaself:

It seems like there's some confusion here: platforms like Kinguin only deal in account selling, which, while controversial to some, operates as a legitimate business

It's illegal. Steam doesn't allow account transfer (outside of "inheritance" to family member in case of death of the previous owner).

Originally posted by lukaself:

From a practical standpoint, these services are actually more appealing to pirates than cracking Denuvo games.

No, the storage space on PC isn't unlimited.

Originally posted by lukaself:

They get it immediately on release instead of waiting for the scene to crack the game, the activation is instant due to most of the process being automated, users benefit from Steam’s offline mode, and the price is so low it’s nearly free. This also creates a financial incentive for hackers, leading to a more consistent flow of pirated content compared to the past, where cracks were developed by a small group of enthusiasts working in their spare time.

Do not mix such guys who profit from the... licensing compromise that doesn't require IT knowledge and the actual Scene who have better knowledge of game engines than average devs. The Hacker Scene is no-profit in the first place, for the most part, and only care about reputation.

Originally posted by lukaself:

Some of these services even offer customer support, and since piracy of Western games and software is even encouraged in Russia to counteract the sanctions imposed by Western countries, they're difficult to stop.

Duh, Sega doesn't sell games in Russia anymore. What do you expect. Still, game piracy in my country is prerogative of poor students, in large part thanks to Steam making getting legal copies convenient. Some richer people still pirate games (or just DLC), but there is culture of buying them if they turn out to be good and with the changes of the Steam return policy there is less of them.
Films are something that everyone and his grandma pirates instead.
You are wrong to thing that Russian are a major customers of game activations services thought. We mostly use twink accounts in other countries instead. Personally I don't, I simple refuse to buy any game from companies like this. Well, not quite right, I actually have Singapourian account of Sony, but I had it for many years for purpose of getting DLC for Gundam games that never has been released in Europe, and I hasn't used it for like 5 years.

Originally posted by lukaself:

Ultimately, the gaming industry’s heavy-handed focus on combating piracy, rather than improving the experience for paying customers, has contributed to the rise of this underground economy. In the process, publishers haven't gained much, and the overall gaming landscape may have suffered as a result. :clickbutton:

Yes, Denuvo isn't free, and it hasn't helped Pharaoh sales.

[Elitewrecker PT]

Originally posted by lukaself:

Last minute note: As a matter of fact, the number of titles with Denuvo is down 45% compared to last year with barely 30 titles out of 13898 released so far. https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Denuvo#List_of_games_using_Denuvo_Anti-Tamper

SEGA and Ubisoft almost single-handedly keeping Denuvo in business.

I'm indeed confused above.
If those offline activations aren't selling accounts with the game, is it like the classic download a copy of the program from a file-hosting/torrent and input a code like the old keygens?
I don't think it's that because then the users wouldn't be taking advantage of steam. But if they're taking advantage of steam then it has to tied to some account, which would imply having a real key?

[lukaself]

Originally posted by Elitewrecker PT:

Originally posted by lukaself:

Last minute note: As a matter of fact, the number of titles with Denuvo is down 45% compared to last year with barely 30 titles out of 13898 released so far. https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Denuvo#List_of_games_using_Denuvo_Anti-Tamper

SEGA and Ubisoft almost single-handedly keeping Denuvo in business.

Right on the money with that first comment, 90% of Denuvo usage comes from SEGA, EA, Ubisoft and Frontier. Two of these companies have already confirmed that they had no intention of ever removing Denuvo, for any reason - basically admitting to planned obsolescence. EA isn't publicizing it like the other two but they're doing it with their sports series and SEGA hasn't removed it from any titles in years besides the Yakuza series which curiously benefit from some sort of preferential treatment.

That handful of companies known for their long history of anti-consumer practices is clearly not paying for Denuvo to fight piracy.

Obviously, discussing the details of how pirates are now leveraging the Denuvo offline activation token here isn't the best of ideas. While I understand its mechanisms, I don't condone it and I don't want to educate people on how to pirate but feel free to add me out of scientific curiosity.