Is the end of video game piracy near?

Posted on Wednesday, January 06 2016 @ 14:54 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
Piracy has always been a big problem for software and game developers. In the past, games were usually cracked shortly after (or often even before) the official launch date but this is becoming a thing of the past as games are increasingly well protected.

Take Just Cause 3 for example, this blockbuster game has been out since early December but there's still no crack for this title. Just Cause 3 uses the latest version of Denuvo, an anti-tamper technology developed by German-based Denuvo Software Solutions. The DRM scheme gained notoriety in 2014 as it managed to protect Dragon Age: Inquisition for almost a month.

Eventually, Chinese cracking group 3DM managed to pirate Dragon Age: Inquisition but the latest version of Denuvo is proving to be a greater challenge. Bird Sister, the founder of the Chinese cracking forum 3DM, explained in a recent blog post that the guy working on the crack almost threw in the towel last week because the last stage of the protection is so difficult.

Bird Sister believes the game can be compromised, but speculates encryption technology is getting so good that game piracy may become a thing of the past:
“I still believe that this game can be compromised. But according to current trends in the development of encryption technology, in two years time I’m afraid there will be no free games to play in the world,” she adds.

While Denuvo is no doubt proving a difficult nut to crack, two years is an awful long time in technology and things are always prone to change. Furthermore, Denuvo is only used on a limited number of gaming titles, reportedly due to its relative expense.
Additionally, TorrentFreak makes a good point that even if new DRM schemes can be cracked, the sheer difficulty will make it much less attractive to pirate games because gamers don't want to wait weeks or even months to play a new game.


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



Loading Comments