New Denuvo Feature Could Make Modding Some Games More Difficult

Yet another addition to the controversy surrounding the anti-tampering tech.

By Shahmeer Sarfaraz August 23, 2023

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Denuvo’s newly announced Unreal Engine Protection feature in the recent Gamescom event 2023 has caused many gamers to worry because of its potential harm to the game modding.
The feature wants to deter anyone from modifying game files to prevent any malicious activity. This could also indicate that mod devs will no longer be able to access files smoothly, or possibly not at all.
The anti-piracy software also revealed the new Integrity Verification feature, which will let devs check their code. It will stop users from making any changes to the code of any title.
Denuvo is known for its impact on many games. It is blamed for causing increased loading times, lowering performance, and impeding the frame rates. The new feature was also not well received.

Denuvo partook in the Gamescom event 2023 and announced a fair share of new features for the anti-tampering tech. Its latest announcement has caused a lot of concern in the community because modding could become quite harder for some entries in the future. Irdeto, the company behind the anti-piracy measure, has announced the new Unreal Engine Protection feature that seeks to deter anyone from game modifications.

🔒 Elevating #GameSecurity: Introducing Denuvo's Unreal Engine Protection and Integrity Verification features at @gamescom! 🎮🛡️ We are proud to unveil two groundbreaking additions to our lineup. Read more: https://t.co/Ar9QnxrnpD #Denuvo #Cybersecurity #ProtectYourGames #Gaming pic.twitter.com/na2tNzxDu6

— Denuvo by Irdeto (@gamingatdenuvo) August 22, 2023

As revealed in the blog, Denuvo wants to prevent bad actors from doing any sort of modifications on games created using Unreal Engine. However, the points laid out by Irdeto in the new blog pretty much confirm our strongest fears. It will be a real headache for mod devs trying to access the game files, only if it does not become impossible in the first place.

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This first-of-its-kind solution is easy to integrate into the game on a binary level, effectively thwarting data mining attempts and creating formidable barriers against cheat creators, pirates and fraudsters. It shields Unreal Engine game data files against decryption, blocks the use of in-game debug consoles, and conceals entry points to deter game modification.”

While the new Unreal Engine Protection feature will dampen any malicious activity, it may also prove to become a great hurdle in mod development. The blog also talked about the Integrity Verification feature, which will let devs check the soundness of their code. It will stop users from making any changes to the code of any title.

Denuvo is one of the most utilized anti-tampering techs in the gaming ecosystem for its effectiveness in preventing piracy during the heyday of a game release. Nevertheless, the anti-piracy solution has gathered its fair share of controversies over the years; it has been alleged to cause increased loading times, a dip in performance and inconsistency in frame rates, and a myriad of other similar issues in games where it is added.

The upcoming Tekken 8 and Payday 3 will also feature the polemical Denuvo DRM software. Many prominent entries including Resident Evil Village did not take long to remove the anti-piracy measure in a new secretive update on April 10, 2023. It is quite powerful in fulfilling its goals even when much pessimism surrounds the DRM technology. Dying Light 2 was the only game last year with Denuvo DRM that was cracked successfully.

The new Unreal Engine Protection feature hailed by the creators at Irdeto may prove to be a boon or a bane for the gaming community. While the feature will increase the protection in titles using the popular Unreal Engine, it may also result in an increased complexity for the modders of many titles.

Many users across the globe have already started to raise their voices against the new feature, while others await to see how it is used by Denuvo. It would have been great if Irdeto elaborated on these concerns officially in the blog, but we may hear an official answer soon. All in all, it is best not to get too worked up about it since its rumored negative effects on video games remain to be seen in the near future.

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