In an unexpected twist, Starbreeze, the developer behind the much-anticipated first-person shooter game, Payday 3, is confirming excellent news just days before its release: Denuvo DRM, a contentious anti-cheat and anti-tampering system, will not be part of the game.
This announcement was succinctly conveyed in a post on Steam, "Hello heisters, we want to inform you that Denuvo is no longer in Payday 3."
Naturally, this message garnered a notably positive response from the amazingly patient community.
This turn of events comes after a wave of criticism that targeted the inclusion of Denuvo in Payday 3. Two months prior to the announcement, a thread on the r/paydaytheheist subreddit vehemently voiced concerns over Denuvo's presence, and the general sentiment was negative. By addressing this point of contention, Starbreeze seems keen on ensuring an enthusiastic player community supports their game's launch. It's evident that they are listening to the feedback from a fan base that has stuck to them over the years.
Denuvo's reputation has always been divisive. Many believe that it hampers game performance and complicates game modding. Furthermore, DRM can render games completely unplayable during instances when authentication servers are down. The company behind Denuvo, Irdeto, has been quick to contest these allegations. To dispel rumors and clear its name, Irdeto recently unveiled plans to distribute two versions of games to media outlets: one with Denuvo and one without, the objective being to demonstrate that Denuvo doesn't impair game performance.