Denuvo, the company behind some of the most notorious anti-piracy software on planet Earth, had some interesting things to say about the state of piracy and DRM. In an interview with business outlet Games Industry, Elmar Fischer (sales director of Denuvo), spoke to not only what the believed benefit of DRM is, but also the inevitability of piracy.
Fischer said that piracy has taken on a sort of counter-culture status, with growth in that space keeping pace with growth in the anti-tamper space. He says that it’s like a sport to that community, and in the scene there’s almost a competition and social status attributed to piracy groups that work on cracks.
Fischer also spoke to the perceived purpose of anti-tamper products like Denuvo. He seems to have a more realistic view of it, stating that there is no “uncrackable” game. The goal is more to protect initial sales of the game, which he says can protect a game and help ensure sequels and things of that nature.
One sticking point in the interview was performance issues in games ostensibly caused by Denuvo. He cited Tekken 7 issues to the game’s complexity, and noted the game was cracked within a week. However, Games industry states he could not produce an answer for why other games such as Sonic Mania had similar issues.
Source: Games Industry