Denuvo has pushed back against some of the negativity surrounding its public image. The notorious anti-tamper software has been lambasted by PC gamers for years, and Denuvo is now on a mission to address the longstanding concerns against it.

Denuvo's history is marred by controversy in the sphere of PC gaming. While the software is designed to protect games from piracy, players have often complained that it significantly tanks in-game performance. Resident Evil Village was a prominent example of this, as its Denuvo implementation reportedly caused stuttering and reduced framerates. Capcom eventually removed Denuvo from Resident Evil Village, but despite these concerns, there hasn't been enough hard evidence that links Denuvo to poor game performance on PC.

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Negative sentiments around Denuvo exist nonetheless, but the company has been making efforts of late to reshape its public image, beginning with the appointment of Andreas Ullmann as product manager and the launch of a new Discord server to better engage with PC gamers. However, the Discord server was quickly shut down due to users flooding it with "inappropriate content." Following this setback, Ullmann spoke with Rock Paper Shotgun about the "very toxic" and "hostile" views posted about Denuvo in public forums, stating that the team doesn't want to "leave the floor" to its detractors.

Denuvo Believes its Controversial Reputation Comes from PC Users Who Are "Not Willing to Pay" for Games

Ullmann further defended Denuvo, claiming that its negative perception stems from its effectiveness in preventing video game piracy. He boldly argued that a large subset of PC players who are unwilling to pay for games frequently attack Denuvo online, blaming it for performance problems in an effort to discredit the software. Additionally, he cited an Entertainment Computing journal study that claims piracy can cause a 20% loss in revenue for game makers, and that Denuvo helps protect up to 15-20% of that revenue.

Denuvo's claims seem dubious in light of evidence

Interestingly, an FAQ on Denuvo's now-shuttered Discord server dismissed claims about the software's role in Resident Evil Village's and Tekken 7’s performance issues. According to Denuvo, Tekken 7’s stuttering was caused by the wrong source code part being selected for protection, while Resident Evil Village's issues stemmed from unrelated protection measures that were removed after the game was cracked. The former claim is rather dubious, especially since Tekken 8 didn't include a Denuvo implementation.

It's difficult to say which side presents the more veritable arguments, but it's clear that Denuvo is tired of the negativity cast its way. Curiously, though, the Entertainment Computing study Ullmann referred to also points out that long-term use of Denuvo may not be justified, given its potential technical side effects and the software's general dislike among the PC community.