Controversial Denuvo Removed from Resident Evil Village

The most recent entry in Capcom's Resident Evil franchise, Resident Evil Village, has had its contentious Denuvo DRM software recently stripped away. This news comes almost two years after the game was originally released, allowing PC players to play without worrying about performance issues caused by the software that has been known for causing such problems in many games.

Denuvo is a DRM (Digital Rights Management) technology crafted by Irdeto, aimed at safeguarding video games from piracy and preventing illegal replication and dissemination. It works by encrypting certain files within a game and making them inaccessible unless authenticated with an online server or through an activation key provided by the publisher of the game. While it does have some benefits, such as protecting developers from lost sales due to piracy, it's also known for causing performance issues in some games on PC due to its encryption process, which can slow down loading times and cause stuttering when playing certain titles such as Resident Evil Village.

The notification stating that Denuvo would be incorporated into the game was also removed from store pages, suggesting that this change is permanent and fully intentional. This move means that RE8 joins Devil May Cry 5, Monster Hunter World, and both Remakes of Resident Evil 2 & 3 with no Denuvo present. It's worth noting that Capcom previously announced plans to remove it back in October 2020, but they have only just now gone ahead with it.

It is not clear why Capcom chose to wait until nearly three years later to remove the contentious DRM software, but it appears as though they finally decided enough was enough and made their move. Fans are relieved at this news as many have longed for a way to enjoy these titles without worrying about potential performance issues caused by their presence within a game. It remains unclear if other titles will follow suit or if future releases will feature similar protection systems in place of Denuvo or none at all when it comes out on PC platforms.

Conclusion

All in all, Capcom’s decision to remove Denuvo from RE8 has welcomed news for fans who had been suffering through sub-par performance due primarily to this highly-contested piece of DRM software. We can only hope more developers decide against using such intrusive measures going forward so we can all enjoy our favorite games without worry or hassle in the future.