Denuvo, the corporate finest identified for its heavily-criticized PC gaming DRM know-how, has set its sights on a brand new scourge: Nintendo Switch piracy. The software program maker introduced throughout GamesCom 2022 on Wednesday that it’s going to start promoting a brand new product known as Nintendo Switch Emulator Protection to stop Switch video games from being pirated on PC.
It doesn’t look like partnering with Nintendo on the initiative, which as a substitute appears aimed largely at third-party publishers of multiplatform video games. “As with all other Denuvo solutions, the technology integrates seamlessly into the build toolchain with no impact on the gaming experience. It then allows for the insertion of checks into the code, which blocks gameplay on emulators,” the corporate wrote in a press launch. In the previous, nonetheless, Denuvo’s “checks” have been accused of making some video games run worse.
Switch emulation has come a good distance because the console launched in 2017, and now it’s not unusual for some tech fans to play their legally bought Switch exclusives on an emulator working on a way more highly effective gaming rig. The consequence can imply increased resolutions, body charges, and different efficiency enhancements.
Read More: In Defense of ROMs, A Solution To Dying Games And Broken Copyright Laws
But the Switch, like Nintendo’s earlier handhelds earlier than it, can be weak to piracy, with customers distributing ROMs of video games on-line to be performed on jailbroken Switches or, extra typically, a Switch emulator on PC. And that’s what Denuvo claims to be cracking down on, particularly with video games which might be on each Switch and PC.
“Even if a game is protected against piracy on its PC version, the released version on Switch can be emulated from day one and played on PC, therefore bypassing the strong protections offered on the PC version,” Denuvo wrote. “The Nintendo Switch Emulator Protection will ensure that anyone wishing to play the game has to buy a legitimate copy.”
At the identical time, plenty of PC video games have eliminated Denuvo anti-tamper protections in recent times. In the late 2010s it turned one thing of a sport for hackers to see how briskly they might “crack” the newest Denuvo-protected sport. More lately, studios have sometimes eliminated Denuvo DRM themselves earlier than a sport even comes out, both due to fan backlash or due to issues over the way it will damage technical efficiency.
Nintendo has taken a special method to clamping down on Switch piracy. Namely, lawsuits and, in a single significantly harsh case, collaborating with federal prosecutors to ship hackers to jail. Nintendo and Denuvo didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Discussion about this post