The team behind the newly developed Soulslike game, Lords of the Fallen, has firm views against using the digital rights management software Denuvo — a controversial anti-piracy tech generally adopted as a shield against pirating games. This commitment was clarified via the game's official Twitter account in response to a question from a fan regarding Denuvo's listing associated with Lords of the Fallen on YouTube channel Gameranx. The statement confirmed, "Lords of the Fallen does not, and will never feature Denuvo."
Denuvo serves a dual purpose beyond merely acting as a piracy deterrent. It also offers an anti-cheat solution for multiplayer games. Regardless of the company's assertions to the contrary, the tech has been criticized for its potential to undermine performance and preserving games, making them impenetrable by stringent digital rights management.
The position taken by Lords of the Fallen's creators, Hexworks is noteworthy, given that the original Lords of the Fallen did use Denuvo's digital rights management. This decision places Lords of the Fallen at the opposed spectrum of recent major releases, including Street Fighter 6 and fellow Soulslike game Lies of P, which announced their use of Denuvo mere days before the games' market debut. Conversely, Payday 3 made headlines when developer Starbreeze dropped Denuvo from its lineup just days before the game's release.
The decision to forgo Denuvo might affect the public opinion on Lords of the Fallen, which started on a rough patch with mostly negative reviews on Steam due to various technical glitches. The creators have since tried to remedy these issues with a dedicated guide and a recent patch targeting the widely reported game problems.
Regardless of the ongoing technical glitches, Lords of the Fallen's reception has been mixed amongst critics, some of whom question whether the game's Soulslike formula holds enough polish and innovation. During the review of Lords of the Fallen, it was noted that while the game promises a grand adventure to cleanse a kingdom of rot, the journey is hampered by minor nuisances that block the game from ascending into Soulslike royalty.
The issue of Denuvo usage amongst gaming developers continues to be a hot topic within the community. More and more developers are seen taking positions like Lords of the Fallen, questioning the effectiveness and necessity of such stringent anti-piracy measures. As the gaming industry continues to evolve and advance technologically, the debate over the balance between game preservation and anti-piracy measures is bound to intensify. The game developers' final stand on these issues will deeply impact how games of the future are experienced by players globally.
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