Denuvo’s product manager Andreas Ullmann has come to the defense of the company's anti-piracy software amidst ongoing criticism from the gaming community.
Denuvo’s Product Manager Defends Anti-Piracy Software Amidst Backlash
Denuvo Addresses Performance Concerns and Misinformation
In a recent interview, Andreas Ullmann, Denuvo's product manager, tackled the intense backlash that the anti-piracy company has encountered from gamers over the years. Ullmann characterized the community's reaction as "very toxic" and pointed out that much of the criticism, particularly concerning performance impacts, arises from misinformation and confirmation bias.
For context, Denuvo's anti-tamper DRM has been adopted by major publishers to safeguard new game releases from piracy, including recent titles like Final Fantasy 16. However, gamers frequently claim that the DRM hampers game performance, often citing anecdotal evidence or unverified benchmarks that show differences in framerate or stability when Denuvo is removed. Ullmann refuted these claims, asserting that cracked versions of games still contain Denuvo’s code.
"The cracks, they don’t remove our protection," Ullmann explained in an interview with Rock, Paper, Shotgun. "There is even more code on top of the cracked code—that is executing on top of our code, and causing even more stuff to be executed. So there is technically no way that the cracked version is faster than the uncracked version."
When questioned about whether Denuvo can negatively affect game performance, Ullmann responded, "No, and I think that’s also something we’ve stated in our FAQ on Discord." He acknowledged that there were "valid cases," such as with Tekken 7, where games using Denuvo DRM experienced noticeable performance issues.
However, the company’s Anti-Tamper Q&A contradicts this claim. According to the FAQ, "Anti-Tamper has no perceptible effect on game performance nor is Anti-Tamper to blame for any game crashes of genuine executables."
On Denuvo’s Negative Reputation and Discord Shutdown
Ullmann, an avid gamer himself, acknowledged that gamers are frustrated with DRM, admitting it’s often "super hard to see, as a gamer, what is the immediate benefit." He argued that the benefits to developers are significant, citing studies that show games with effective DRM see a "20%" revenue increase by deterring early piracy. He further suggested that misinformation from the piracy community has fueled misunderstandings, urging players to recognize Denuvo’s contributions to the industry and avoid vilifying DRM without substantial evidence.
"These big corporations are… looking for a way to minimize the risk for their investment," said Ullmann. "Again, this does not have an immediate benefit for me as a player. But if you look further, the more successful a game is, the longer it will get updates. The more additional content will come to that game, the more likely it is that there will be a next iteration of the game. That's basically the benefits that we offer to the average player."
Despite efforts to clarify misunderstandings, Denuvo continues to face criticism from gamers. On October 15, 2024, Denuvo launched a public Discord server to engage with gamers and address their concerns. According to Denuvo, this was "a way to open up our communication and, in a way, ourselves, to your voices."
However, within just two days, Denuvo had to shut down the server’s main chat as users overwhelmed it with anti-DRM memes, performance complaints, and other critical messages. The flood of content overwhelmed Denuvo’s small moderation team, leading them to pause all chat permissions and temporarily switch the server to read-only mode. Their social media posts continue to receive similar feedback.
Despite the initial setback, Ullmann remains optimistic in his interview with Rock, Paper, Shotgun. "You have to start somewhere, right?" said Ullmann. "So this is now the start for this initiative, and we want to be out there. It will take some time. It will start on Discord, and later on we hope we can move to other platforms: Reddit, Steam forums, to have official accounts and throw our comments into the discussions."
Whether these upcoming transparency efforts will change the community’s perspective is uncertain, but Denuvo’s attempt to shape the narrative seems aimed at fostering a more balanced dialogue between gamers and developers. As Ullmann stated, "This is exactly what we are looking for. Having honest, nice conversations with people. Talking about what we all love, which is gaming."
