Shortly before the release, Back 4 Blood makes a change and explains that it will use a copyright protection that is under criticism.
There is some trouble on reddit regarding the upcoming zombie co-op shooter. Just days before release, it received a slight addition. The game will use Denuvo as a copyright protection and this has massively upset some potential players – a reddit post on the topic gathered over 1,400 upvotes.
What happened? Shortly before the release, some players noticed a few new lines of text in the Steam store for Back 4 Blood. According to SteamDB, on September 28, an addition was made stating that Back 4 Blood will be released with “Denuvo”. For many, this has triggered annoyance about this last-minute change.
What is Denuvo? Denuvo is a small software integrated into the game code. Basically, Denuvo is supposed to protect the game from the actual copyright protection being “cracked”. It is an extension of the existing copyright protection intended to ensure that players actually buy the game rather than downloading and playing it illegally. It is therefore anti-piracy software.
Denuvo mainly promotes that it will have “the longest possible release window”. Eventually, games protected by Denuvo are cracked, as a rule. However, this should take as long as possible so that developers can earn something from their game and the game is not illegally spread on torrent sites.
Why is Denuvo criticized? Denuvo has long been criticized by players. It is said that Denuvo can lead to a higher load on the PC, potentially resulting in performance losses – meaning the game may not run as smoothly as it could on the hardware.
In recent months, some developers have parted ways with Denuvo or had to make adjustments. For instance, Resident Evil: Village needed a little revision of Denuvo to ensure it did not compromise game quality. Other games, like Marvel’s Avengers, have subsequently removed Denuvo, and Humankind had removed Denuvo from the game even before its launch.
In many cases, using Denuvo also requires the player to be “always online” for the game to function. However, since Back 4 Blood is a co-op shooter that works best with other players, this aspect is likely not a significant problem.
Whether Denuvo will indeed have a negative impact on Back 4 Blood, or if it is already well optimized, we will probably find out in a few days – as the Early Access of Back 4 Blood starts soon.
What do you think about Denuvo and the fact that it was added shortly before release? Absolutely fine or an annoying matter that will affect your purchasing decision?
