Payday 3 Removes Denuvo Just Days Ahead of Release

With the launch of Payday 3 imminent, scheduled for September 21, Starbreeze Studios has made the surprise announcement that it will no longer include Denuvo, a controversial anti-cheat and anti-tampering system, in the game. This revelation came just three days before the game's release, as the developer shared the update with fans on X. Earlier, in July, fans had discovered and shared evidence of Denuvo's integration into the game through screenshots on Steam. The decision to drop Denuvo follows long-standing complaints from PC players who have blamed the DRM software for causing performance issues and drops in games such as Doom Eternal and Metro Exodus, which have also since removed Denuvo's anti-piracy measures. Irdeto, the company that acquired Denuvo in 2018, has been working to change the gaming community's perception of the software. Steeve Huin, Irdeto's COO of video games, expressed a desire to shift this perception, stating, "We are all gamers, we love gaming, and we love being a part of it. Our goal is to develop technologies that make the gaming industry better and stronger." Huin emphasized that Irdeto conducts regular validations to ensure that Denuvo does not impact game performance, asserting, "The way we do things ensures there is no perceptible impact on gameplay." However, he acknowledged that Irdeto's assurances often fall on deaf ears due to a lack of trust, saying, "Unfortunately, our voice is not enough to convince people because they don't trust us from the start."