Some may understand why studios and publishers would want to protect their intellectual properties, especially when it comes to cracking games or cheating in multiplayer. However, given that the likes of Denuvo is generally disruptive to many games, players often lean towards the side of disdain when it comes to the anti-tamper measures. While there has been a trend of studios now taking to removing it from titles post-release, it seems like it's here to stay. However, for games like Watch Dogs Legion, the latest version of the software seems to have been cracked.
According to a recent report from DSO Gaming, V10.0 of Denuvo, which is used in Ubisoft's 2020 release Watch Dogs Legion, has, in fact, been cracked. Who it was cracked by, the report doesn't say, but it suggests that it could improve performance of the game, especially given that there are four other systems in place to protect the game. While the crack is available, it has been suggested that it won't actually remove the DRM software, but will bypass it instead. At the very least, it may offer a respite for gamers who are not fans of the likes of Denuvo.
Watch Dogs Legion is generally regarded as one of the best open world games to take place in a single city. However, upon release, benchmark tests showed that mid-range systems seemed to struggle with performance. While there may still be some debate about it, a lot of fans often point to Denuvo as being the cause for low framerates in new games, even on PCs that should run them optimally. Past reports indicate that games that do end up removing the DRM software, either officially or otherwise, do see an improvement in performance. Such examples include, Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Resident Evil Village.
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In the past, Ubisoft has blamed third-party software for PC stuttering, rather than Denuvo. Such claims are likely to be scoffed at by gamers, and given that tthere does seem to be some correlation between improved performances and the removal of Denuvo, many may find it hard to take Ubisoft's word as gospel.
Watch Dogs Legion was released in October 2020 to generally positive critical reception, with an average overall score of 71.6 on Metacritic. No doubt fans of the game who have been experiencing issues, even with official patches, will be pleased to know that there is a way around the anti-tamper technology, even if it doesn't actually remove it all together. However, it is worth mentioning that links to the crack will not be provided in this article.
Watch Dogs: Legion is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: DSO Gaming