Denuvo, an advanced form of anti-piracy tech, withstood cracks for years. But 2016 may well be seen as the year it finally succumbed its opponent’s advances in an age-old arms race.
It was big enough news that Rise of the Tomb Raider, which used Denuvo and had been thought uncrackable for a time, was pirated after 193 days on the market.
Now, though, Torrent Freak reports that the Inside—which also uses Denuvo—only lasted six weeks before a cracked version appeared online.
That’s two Denuvo games overcome in just a few weeks. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, another Denuvo title. If it’s cracked in a similar timeframe, then what was once believed to be the industry’s best defence against piracy won’t be looking so impenetrable anymore.
Of course, this all relates to the current iteration of Denuvo! Like I said, this is an arms race, and if pirates have found a way to regularly get around Denuvo as it stands, then it’ll only be a matter of time before the measure closes loopholes and comes back stronger.