Sonic Racing will offer a free weekend. However, a controversial feature is preventing people from playing. In the meantime, the developer seems to have solved the problem with Denuvo, but the criticism doesn’t end there.
Which game is it about? Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is SEGA’s alternative to Nintendo’s long-standing classic Mario Kart. The game was released in September 2025 and offers you crazy races with characters from different universes.
From April 30 to May 4, 2026, there will be a free weekend where you can check out the racer. However, this is supposed to cause problems. Some users report that the copy protection (or anti-tamper software) Denuvo is preventing them from starting the game. Meanwhile, the problem is said to be solved.
Denuvo prevents game launch, developers have since solved the issue
What was the problem? On X.com some users report that they cannot currently start Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. Instead of seeing the game, they receive an error message from Denuvo stating that they do not own it and therefore cannot start it (via X.com).
Meanwhile, the developers have commented on Steam and clarified that they are aware of the issue. In a brief update on April 30, 2026, at 10:15 PM, they stated that the problem is now officially resolved. This means that players should also be able to take advantage of the free weekend.
In a brief test, we were able to download and start Sonic Racing: CrossWorld without any issues.
The DRM technology Denuvo from the eponymous Austrian manufacturer has long been highly controversial among players. Players criticize the measures for allegedly consuming performance and efficiency just to protect the game from illegal copies. However, this does not stop developers from tightening the measures even further. In some games, you must be online constantly in order to be able to play them with Denuvo at all.
However, there are also positive developments. Some developers are removing Denuvo from their games after a few months, as they only want to protect the release. Others, however, want to retroactively implement the DRM measure but are failing due to the angry protests of players: A game removes a controversial feature after being subjected to angry protests for the last 24 hours
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