PC video gaming piracy has troubled publishers for years, but they have redoubled their efforts to thwart the menace with anti-tamper technology from Denuvo. Far Cry Primal - the tenth instalment in the series - will utilise Denuvo to protect the game from cracking groups, reveals the game's end-user licence agreement on Steam.
Under section 3 'Access to the product' the EULA reads: "THE PRODUCT IS PROTECTED BY DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE ("DRM SOFTWARE") AND DENUVO ANTI-TAMPER PROTECTION TECHNOLOGY ("ANTI-TAMPER TECHNOLOGY")."
(Also see: Square Enix's Lack of Faith in PS4, Xbox One Led to a Host of Problems: Report)
And in addition to the usual requirements of the DRM (digital rights management) software keeping a check on the number of installs and requiring an online connection to verify your purchase on first run, it also mentions:
"CERTAIN FILES OF THE ANTI-TAMPER TECHNOLOGY MAY REMAIN EVEN AFTER THE PRODUCT IS UNINSTALLED FROM YOUR COMPUTER."
Rise of the Tomb Raider - sequel to 2013's Lara Croft reboot - is set to arrive on Microsoft Windows this week, and will reportedly also come with Denuvo's anti-tamper tech, according to users on user-curated social news website Reddit. Square Enix's Just Cause 3 released last month with Denuvo and has been a thorn for pirates, so it makes sense the publisher would use it with all its future PC releases.
(Also see: Rise of the Tomb Raider PC Free with Nvidia Cards; Disc Edition India Price Revealed)
Chinese cracking group 3DM said this month that the development of anti-piracy tech is threatening to run their operations into the ground, and there may be no pirated "free" games in a couple of years.
Get your daily dose of tech news, reviews, and insights, in under 80 characters on Gadgets 360 Turbo. Connect with fellow tech lovers on our Forum. Follow us on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News for instant updates. Catch all the action on our YouTube channel.
Starlink Hiring for Payments, Tax and Accounting Roles in Bengaluru as Firm Prepares for Launch in India