2K Responds to Denuvo DRM Bypass with New 14-Day Online Check-In Requirement

The notorious DRM technology Denuvo, often criticized by gamers, has reportedly been completely cracked by skilled modders and pirates. With this breakthrough, the once formidable DRM has been bypassed, prompting 2K to take action by implementing new 14-day online check-ins for its PC games, with Denuvo’s assistance.

A recent Reddit thread revealed that as of April 27, there are no longer any games using Denuvo DRM that require official cracking or bypassing. This list focuses on titles that don’t need a constant online connection, excluding MMORPGs and similar games. Essentially, this means that, according to modders and hackers, Denuvo can no longer effectively prevent piracy, marking a significant achievement for those in the hacking community, particularly the MKDev collective and modder DenuvOwO, who developed a hypervisor-based bypass (HVB) that installs a kernel-level driver to circumvent Denuvo’s checks.

While Denuvo is still present, it’s not functioning as intended, allowing pirates to play games without purchasing them. There are already indications that bypassing Denuvo has improved performance in titles like Resident Evil Requiem, which might entice some players to use the bypass even if they own the game. A similar situation occurred with a previous Resident Evil title when hackers managed to bypass Denuvo back in 2021.

The implications of DRM circumvention are complex; while it can be detrimental to publishers, it also plays a role in video game preservation, allowing older titles to remain playable long after they’ve been delisted. However, for those involved in creating and selling games, this news about their DRM software is certainly unwelcome. Consequently, some publishers and Denuvo are reportedly pushing back.

Reports indicate that 2K Games has started implementing 14-day online check-ins for certain PC titles. This new requirement has been added to games like NBA 2K25, NBA 2K26, and Marvel’s Midnight Suns. These titles now utilize a “fixed offline authorization token” that expires after two weeks, requiring an internet connection to refresh the token and continue gameplay. There are claims that this countdown feature is not clearly communicated on the Steam Store pages or in the respective EULAs of these games.