Bandai Namco and Denuvo
Despite one of the more recent Denuvo versions lasting a lot longer than usual, rumours are growing that Bandai Namco may be ready to drop the controversial anti-piracy software in upcoming games.
In the highly-anticipated (at least in our office) release of Ni No Kuni 2 next month, the official Steam Store page confirms that it will not include Denuvo.
Possible Abandonment
With us eating up all news we can about Ni No Kuni 2, I must admit, we were surprised to hear that it would definitely not include Denuvo. This particularly since the more recent versions have remained far more resilient than those in the past.
The lack of inclusion could possible, therefore, suggest that Bandai Namco may be considering giving up on the maligned software.
Maybe… Maybe not
In fairness, while it’s lack of inclusion is surprising, it isn’t necessarily indicative either. Bandai Namco games seem to pick and choose when to use Denuvo. For example, Dragon Ball FighterZ used it, but Tekken 7 did not.
It’s hard to know exactly why they have this on-again-off-again relationship. Particularly since Denuvo has actually redeemed a little of its reputation. At least for protecting games, there are still many that accuse it of causing performance slow-down.
The future of Denuvo
It’s hard really to predict what will happen. It does have its critics for various reasons and at the moment it is very much in a state of limbo between which developers or publishers choose to use it and even indeed when they choose to use it.
Denuvo could do with another long success run, which their current update seems to be doing. Otherwise, I can’t see it lasting much longer.
What do you think? Is the lack of Denuvo surprising? Do you think the software has a future? – Let us know in the comments!
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Actually, Tekken 7 did use Denuvo, but it got cracked. Perhaps Namco removed it afterwards? Also, Doom (2016) had Denuvo at one point, until Bethesda decided to remove it.