Denuvo bolsters DRM in Steam games, even as hypervisor achieves piracy milestone

The hypervisor bypass has overcome the protection in every Denuvo game. Regardless, Irdeto seems intent on strengthening its anti-piracy DRM. Andreh, a developer for the bypass noted how several 2K Games releases, including NBA 2K26, now force more frequent online checks. If gamers remain offline for 14 days, the activation token will expire, blocking titles from booting.

2K Games introduces an updated Denuvo

On social media, Pirat_Nation addressed a recent Discord post from Andreh. He reveals that Marvel’s Midnight Suns also has the more restrictive version of Denuvo. In the coming days, players may discover that other Steam games have the same requirements.

When installing titles, the DRM stores a unique activation token on each buyer’s system. Revisions to a PC’s configuration may prompt additional online re-authentication. Also, there is often a finite number of times tweaks are allowed before suffering a 24-hour lockout. Pragmata fans on Linux experienced this when new Proton versions counted against a 5-machine limit.

Many Steam games, besides NBA 2K26, already penalize offline players. Still, in an effort to combat piracy, Irdeto has made it even harder to enjoy purchased content. Previously, in many cases, gamers could stay offline for months or longer if they did not update their hardware. Now, regardless of any changes, they must access internet connectivity more regularly.

Irdeto is losing the battle against piracy

Despite Irdeto pledging to counter the hypervisor bypass, their latest efforts will have no impact. A virtualization layer tricks the DRM into authenticating a system. In a victory celebrated by the hacking community, The Gamer discussed how there no uncracked Denuvo games left. That said, some skeptics are wary of disabling Windows security settings to implement the bypass.

Instead of troubling pirates, the 14-day restriction could pose problems for legitimate buyers. Andreh explains how individuals without a reliable internet connection are most affected.

Expiring activation tokens aren’t the only concern for Denuvo opponents. Constant verification checks during gameplay can increase CPU usage. Resident Evil Requiem is among several examples that see improved performance without the anti-piracy measure.