Support us on Patreon
PayPalThe ongoing fight between crackers and DRM has reached a truly massive moment, as reportedly Denuvo DRM has been fully broken open in all games.
Denuvo DRM is generally pretty hated. Not just because of the limits it places on systems, but because of many reported performance issues that could be as a result of its inclusion in various games. In the past, Denuvo DRM was a pretty strong choice for publishers as it was difficult to crack open so pirates were always playing a long game of catch-up but it seems that's no longer the case. Enabling publishers to feel like they're protecting their initial sales revenue.
I haven't really kept up with the Denuvo fight, mostly because it doesn't usually affect me directly (and I'm generally very busy). I try to steer away from games with Denuvo too, since it's a really big nuisance for Linux / SteamOS gaming and can easily lock you out of playing games.
According to a thread on Reddit "There are no uncracked/unbypassed non-VR denuvo exclusive games as of April 26th 2026", although some require a special hypervisor bypass which is just a bit more involved, but doesn't exactly sound difficult to do. Tom's Hardware (pay-walled) have a breakdown on what that is all about that's worth a read.
To fight back, publisher 2K Games have apparently put in a new form of DRM into multiple games with a forced online check every 14 days. From what has been said this is in NBA 2K25, NBA 2K26 and Marvel's Midnight Suns. Something that once again punishes legitimate players.
Online checks even for single-player are a real nuisance, but it seems that it's here to stay and we may even see more of it if the likes of Denuvo can't keep up with the pirates now.
We've reached out to both Denuvo and 2K to confirm any details, will update if either respond.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
About the author - Liam Dawe
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly checked on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. You can follow me personally on Mastodon [External Link].
See more from me
See more from me
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
You can also find comments for this article on social media: All posts need to follow our rules. Please hit the Report Flag icon on any post that breaks the rules or contains illegal / harmful content. Readers can also email us for any issues or concerns.
18 comments
because of many reported performance issues that could be as a result of its inclusion in various games.Often these results may be either:
* Result of a different DRM or different aggressive checks that was included besides Denuvo Anti-Tamper.
* The developer themselves setting up Denuvo's flag on critical parts that don't require a check.
Otherwise the performance impact is quite minimal. PCGamingWiki made an entire [article](https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Denuvo#Denuvo_Anti-Tamper) about Denuvo Anti-Tamper with controversies that offers some explanation and debunks, including a graph how it actually works.
Last edited by KayKay91 on 29 Apr 2026 at 9:52 am UTC
0 Likes
It's pretty much an asymmetric sport. Two teams battling it out with different tasks to see who wins the match. Fun to watch, but I still won't buy anything with Denuvo in it.
5 Likes
once again punishes legitimate playersRight on the nose. This is why I detest Denuvo. It's not about performance hits, it's just that it treats the customer like a criminal.
10 Likes
The Stop Killing Game initiative really needs to success at pushing the EU into putting a few laws to prevent game publisher that require online activation for offline, solo game, to be able to kill them at this point.
Because this is getting really bothersome at this point.
Because this is getting really bothersome at this point.
1 Likes
williamjcm 5 hours ago
The hypervisor bypass actually harms performance, by the way. I remember a post comparing performance in RE9 between the legit version and the actual crack, but the "legit" side of it was actually with the bypass applied, while the actual, unmodified game actually performed on par with the cracked version.
Pirates will literally use every unfair comparison they can come up with just to perpetuate FUD about Denuvo...
Pirates will literally use every unfair comparison they can come up with just to perpetuate FUD about Denuvo...
0 Likes
Denuvo was cracked so 2K is adding online checks... that won't affect pirates.
1 Likes
Serious_Table 4 hours ago
Quoting: williamjcmThe hypervisor bypass actually harms performance, by the way. I remember a post comparing performance in RE9 between the legit version and the actual crack, but the "legit" side of it was actually with the bypass applied, while the actual, unmodified game actually performed on par with the cracked version.We're not seriously going out of our way, on a Linux-specialized news site, to try and protect the honor of a DRM vendor that can lock you out of playing your game by changing your Proton version, are we? Because that's what it looks like.
Pirates will literally use every unfair comparison they can come up with just to perpetuate FUD about Denuvo...
5 Likes
Denuvo bad, but also ya as Tom's said this Hypervisor bypass has you run a script to take basically all low-level security down and restart for it to work. The cracks (I've seen them through FitGirl Repacks) provide the scripts to take it down and bring it back up, but these are hackers writing it by definition, so I hope everyone takes appropriate precautions and that Windows users don't forget to bring their stuff back up...
0 Likes
Denuvo DRM reportedly fully cracked openThat's a very far stretch. Which should be clear when you follow the link to reddit:
`Hypervisor workaround by DenuvOwO`.
They just use some workaround with a hypervisor (which needs to deactivate important security features in windows *outch*), but they did not crack Denuvo.
0 Likes
TangoBaker 3 hours ago
Marvel's Midnight SunsBecause there's a game that everyone's dying to get their hands on. C'mon guys, at this point, you should be paying people to play midnight suns.
0 Likes
Avehicle7887 3 hours ago
I'm probably going to get under fire for saying this but - the problem with Denuvo is that people keep buying games released with it. If a game has DRM, I will simply not buy it regardless of how shiny and modern it is. Logging into my account to download a game I paid for is the only check there's needed.
As for 2K DRM - LOL, it will eventually be bypassed. If they managed to break the steel wall of Denuvo, they will find a way to break the wooden one from 2K too.
As for 2K DRM - LOL, it will eventually be bypassed. If they managed to break the steel wall of Denuvo, they will find a way to break the wooden one from 2K too.
2 Likes
GustyGhost 3 hours ago
Quoting: TangoBakerBecause there's a game that everyone's dying to get their hands on. C'mon guys, at this point, you should be paying people to play midnight suns.Never heard of Disney Midnight Suns. Is 2K really so paranoid? Speaking of paranoid, Disney have been pulling a bunch of games from Steam so it probably won't be around for long anyway.
0 Likes
Quoting: Serious_TableWe're not seriously going out of our way, on a Linux-specialized news site, to try and protect the honor of a DRM vendor that can lock you out of playing your game by changing your Proton version, are we? Because that's what it looks like.Personally I’m here for truthful news, not made up ammunition for baseless prejudice. If I’m going to hate Denuvo, let it be for what it actually is, not exaggerations and false claims.
1 Likes
Kimyrielle 2 hours ago
Quoting: williamjcmPirates will literally use every unfair comparison they can come up with just to perpetuate FUD about Denuvo...Was looking for the Downvote button, then I realized this isn't Reddit.
0 Likes
That's a shame 2K is using Midnight Suns as a testbed for this crap, nobody bought it despite being a genuinely great game and now even less people will bother with it because of this.
0 Likes
ScottCarammell 2 hours ago
lol. lmao, even. nice investment morons
0 Likes
walther von stolzing 17 minutes ago
Quoting: Salvatosnot made up ammunition for baseless prejudiceWhat's the 'baseless prejudice' regarding Denuvo?
0 Likes
Quoting: williamjcmPirates will literally use every unfair comparison they can come up with just to perpetuate FUD about Denuvo...Plenty of video comparing (near) last version with Denuvo (other DRM) and first version without it. Depending how hard dev/publisher gone DRM route. Sensible ones - basically no difference in performance, binaries slightly bigger, maybe hick-up at the start/first launch, similar starting/loading times... Extreme ones - binary multiple time bigger, half to near a gig, performance loss well over 10-30% on beefy PC with well over recommended spec machines, min spec unplayable, stutter, slowdowns etc... and multiple variations in between.
Denuvo and other publishers spreading plenty of FUD, likely more than any pirate. Pirates do not have much of marketing budgets.
If perfect DRM existed, had proper demo/test version, hones review, etc... dev/publisher won't get more sales. Paying one would pay, pirates would go do other things. In current world... DRM deliver less.
0 Likes
How to setup OpenMW for modern Morrowind on Linux / SteamOS and Steam Deck
How to install Hollow Knight: Silksong mods on Linux, SteamOS and Steam Deck