Denuvo removed from Resident Evil Village
As with many other Capcom games, Resident Evil Village was equipped with the well-known anti-piracy software Denuvo upon its release in May 2021. However, Capcom has since quietly removed the DRM software, which was discovered by the website Dark Side of Gaming and subsequently confirmed by SteamDB.
Impact of Denuvo on the gaming experience
The use of Denuvo in Resident Evil Village led to performance issues for some players. The presence of the DRM could significantly impair gameplay performance, prompting Capcom to release an update to optimize the anti-piracy technology. However, it took almost two years for Capcom to actually remove Denuvo.
Standard practice in Capcom games
It seems to be common practice for Capcom to equip PC versions of major games with Denuvo. Titles like Resident Evil 2 Remake, Resident Evil 3 Remake, and Monster Hunter World all launched with the anti-piracy software, which was later removed. However, with Resident Evil Village, Denuvo remained activated for an unusually long time, even though the software was cracked a month after launch.
Denuvo in other games
Capcom is not the only company that relies on Denuvo. Warner Bros Games Montreal also used it in Gotham Knights, although they accidentally removed it last October and later added it back. It is worth noting that the upcoming Resident Evil 4 Remake will also be shipped with Denuvo. However, some players have already expressed concerns in the game's Steam discussions about potential performance issues or save file corruption caused by the software.
Outlook without Denuvo
The removal of Denuvo from Resident Evil Village is likely to be welcome news for many players. Although the anti-piracy software may serve its purpose, resulting performance issues can negatively impact the gaming experience. It remains to be seen whether Capcom will continue to rely on Denuvo in the future or choose alternative solutions to protect their games from piracy while avoiding performance issues.
