Crimson Desert Announces Controversial DRM Implementation Just Days Before Release

The upcoming open-world RPG Crimson Desert is generating a lot of excitement, but some players are concerned it might not live up to the hype. Just a week before its March 19 release, it was revealed that Crimson Desert will feature Denuvo DRM on PC, and the reaction has been far from positive.

On March 12, the official Steam store page for Crimson Desert was updated with a notice about the DRM, which states:

“Incorporates 3rd-party DRM: Denuvo Anti-tamper. 5 different PC within a day machine activation limit.”

This update was confirmed by SteamDB, indicating it was added on Thursday. While Denuvo has made strides in recent years, it remains unpopular among PC gamers. The purpose of this DRM is to prevent piracy, and it generally succeeds in that regard. However, it has also been linked to performance issues in various titles, a fact that the company has acknowledged. As a result, many players were disappointed to learn about the inclusion of Denuvo just days before the game’s launch.

“Really scummy move adding Denuvo at the last moment,” commented one user on an unrelated Crimson Desert Steam post.

“Denuvo last week before launch. Glad I waited before buying. Saved me money,” another player chimed in.

“Welp, off the wishlist it comes, then. I’m not going to be forced to ask permission to play something that I pay for,” stated a Reddit user.

The developers have been contacted regarding the newly announced DRM.

Even if Denuvo didn’t lead to performance issues in some games, revealing its use so close to launch after pre-orders have been taken feels unfair. There are valid reasons for players to want to avoid DRM, just as there are reasons publishers choose to implement it. However, keeping such information from customers until the last minute is generally seen as a poor practice.