Denuvo sues game cracker 'Voices38' for bypassing its anti-tamper DRM

Denuvo has been having a rough year. The DRM protection once thought to be impenetrable a year ago has now become little more than a simple padlock that can be easily picked. With the rapid development of new Hypervisor bypasses, which are now available on Linux and have become more user-friendly, along with game cracks provided courtesy of Voices38, Denuvo’s protection is not looking so secure.

A legal notice against an anonymous redditor

Denuvo has finally made a move against Voices38, following his record-breaking feat of cracking 6 Denuvo games in one day. In a lawsuit filed at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Denuvo has accused Voices38 of violating a DMCA anti-circumvention provision. The Austrian company argues that by circumventing the protection on 26 games, Voices38 has breached this DMCA anti-circumvention provision.

Denuvo, in its complaint, while also also highlighting the individual’s use of Reddit as a distribution platform, stated:

“The defendant is a computer hacker who is focused on reverse engineering, hacking, or ‘cracking’ video games employing Denuvo’s Anti-Tamper product. Defendant has bypassed DRM restrictions in copyrighted works, removing protections that allow copyright owners to restrict who may access their works, and allowing for pirated versions of those copyrighted works.”

A long time coming?

Based on the information in this lawsuit, Denuvo seems to have been building its case for quite some time. Since Voices38 is an anonymous individual, potential accounts linked to Voices38 have been identified, which include a Discord account and Voices38’s own Reddit profile, along with 7 Steam profiles.

With this lawsuit filing, Denuvo will likely subpoena Discord, Steam, and Reddit to identify Voices38. In its complaint, Denuvo has made two DMCA anti-circumvention claims and is requesting damages, along with a sanction on Voices38 that would prevent them from cracking Denuvo’s protection on any current or future games.

A move aimed at unmasking an unknown entity

Anyone who knows how to bypass one of the toughest DRM protections has likely taken precautions to keep their identity hidden. It remains to be seen whether Denuvo can discern Voices38’s identity. So far, Voices38’s response on Reddit has been, “All is fine. Everything will continue as normal.” However, this lawsuit shows Denuvo is prepared to take strict measures against anyone who tries to cross it. This lawsuit will definitely deter those looking to follow in Voices38’s footsteps.