Denuvo are suing a prolific cracker for bypassing their DRM on 26 videogames, despite not knowing their real identity

Digital rights management company Denuvo has initiated legal proceedings against an anonymous game cracker known only as "voices38" in the United States, alleging violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Denuvo claims that "voices38" bypassed DRM restrictions on 26 video games, including Black Myth: Wukong, Resident Evil Requiem, and Doom: The Dark Ages.

The complaint, filed on September 14, accuses the individual or group of circumventing Denuvo's anti-tamper technology, which restricts access to copyrighted works and prevents unauthorized distribution of tools and instructions for overcoming such protections. Denuvo is seeking damages and an injunction to prevent the removal of anti-tamper software from future video games.

However, Denuvo struggles to identify the real identity of "voices38," only having obtained a Discord ID, Reddit account, and a few Steam profiles. The company plans to subpoena Valve, Reddit, and Discord to gather more information about the cracker. Despite the legal action, "voices38" appears unbothered, as evidenced by a Reddit comment stating that their actions will continue as normal.

Denuvo's DRM functions by obfuscating and encrypting code, which can impact game performance, a topic of ongoing debate within the gaming community. In 2023, Denuvo pledged to establish an independent testing initiative to address this issue, but no progress has been reported. The primary concern surrounding Denuvo's DRM is its potential requirement for online checks, which could hinder game preservation efforts.