Bethesda removes DRM from Rage 2 after just two days

[LukeSavenije]

Source: Tweakers (Dutch)

 

Bethesda removed the Denuvo-drm from Rage 2 only two days after releasing. The developers say they have had a 'number' of requests to do that. Earlier it turned out that the version that Bethesda sells through its own launcher did not have Denuvo.

 

Quote

The Steam version of Rage 2 has received a hotfix that removes the Denuvo copy protection from the game. Bethesda supplied the game via its own platform from the first day without Denuvo-drm and as a result the game was cracked quickly. It's not unusual for developers to remove the Denuvo drm from their games after it has been cracked. This often happens quietly, without the developer explicitly reporting it. Bethesda also does not provide a detailed explanation, but at least acknowledges that the drm has been removed and also indicates that people have requested this. Many gamers are fiercely opposed to the Denuvo drm because it can negatively influence the performance of games.

 

I don't mind it having a DRM for the first day, even as heavy as Denuvo. It keeps some money for the developers before it gets cracked. So I think it was a bad idea from Bethesda to not running it on their own launcher in the first place.

 

Any thoughts?

[dgsddfgdfhgs]

2 minutes ago, LukeSavenije said:

Bethesda to not running it on their own launcher in the first place.

the DRM is outsourced to Denuvo, that means DRM is added to the original launcher.... not create the launcher for the game

[LukeSavenije]

1 minute ago, valdyrgramr said:

There's really no point to anti-piracy matters on the SW as they usually fail within a month. 

you're not entirely wrong, but most of the sales happen in that first month, or even week. if it gets cracked earlier, the sales can go down hard

[LukeSavenije]

2 minutes ago, dgsddfgdfhgs said:

the DRM is outsourced to Denuvo, that means DRM is added to the original launcher.... not create the launcher for the game

i don't think you understand me right

 

if you bought it via Bethesda you didn't have the drm, via steam you did

[Jurrunio]

why not steam though? More vulnerable to pirating with steam? I dont think so.

[dgsddfgdfhgs]

4 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

why not steam though? More vulnerable to pirating with steam? I dont think so.

in fact yes, steam DRM is like cracked on or before release date  lol

[Eniqmatic]

Seems like an odd choice to put it on one platform and not the other, knowing full well it will be cracked anyways. Also if you went to the expense of putting DRM on, surely you'd want to use it on both platforms? I wonder if the amount they spent on implementing DRM outweighed the amount they saved on piracy, even though they handed the game on a silver platter to pirates.

 

Just seems like a strange decision all around!

[Bananasplit_00]

Sweet, if we are going to have DRM this is the way id want it done, just for the first few days to avoid the day 0 pirates and stuff and then its FFA

[Jurrunio]

7 minutes ago, dgsddfgdfhgs said:

in fact yes, steam DRM is like cracked on or before release date  lol

yeah but Bethesda's own launcher is like, naked?

[justpoet]

I, for one, don't buy products with DRM anymore.  It does limit my choices quite a lot, but I refuse to be treated like a criminal and then not be able to use a product later on when they're no longer supporting it.

[vanished]

Odd choice to not have a uniform policy of having or not having it across all stores, and I don't agree with its use in the first place due to the performance issues, but good on them for removing it so early on.  I guess they got the day or two of protection they were aiming for and realize trying to claw on to more is not worth annoying everyone with this garbage.

[D13H4RD]

I don't think there is a point to having Denuvo now, considering that hackers can already crack the game in a matter of days or even hours at this point.

[vanished]

12 minutes ago, D13H4RD said:

I don't think there is a point to having Denuvo now, considering that hackers can already crack the game in a matter of days or even hours at this point.

That's all most game makers hope for actually.  Apparently those early sales are enough that it's worth it to bother with the DRM.  I'm happy to see them remove it after that initial period rather than leave it in like a cancer though

[jagdtigger]

1 hour ago, LukeSavenije said:

you're not entirely wrong, but most of the sales happen in that first month, or even week. if it gets cracked earlier, the sales can go down hard

Could go down, but it wont. Most pirates just wait for the crack. New games are pretty buggy at day one anyway (deep respect to the ones that arent)....

[Master Disaster]

Be honest, who cares anymore? When talking about AAA titles any game of any given genre is pretty much the same as any other game of the same genre these days.

 

Games are slowly becoming this grey soup of cookie cutter mechanics.

 

Can you name a single AAA game from the last 5 years that hasn't had XP, a levelling system based on said XP, gear/loot based on level/rank? How about an open world game that hasn't had "towers" to unlock the map? A driving game that hasn't used rewind/flashback (sims don't count)?

 

I can name 2 that don't fit, GTA V & RDR2.

 

The entire industry is incapable of an original thought these days.

 

Rage 2 is simply another open world game, it's nothing special.

[Bouzoo]

"few" requests

[leadeater]

2 hours ago, Master Disaster said:

Can you name a single AAA game from the last 5 years that hasn't had XP, a levelling system based on said XP, gear/loot based on level/rank? How about an open world game that hasn't had "towers" to unlock the map? A driving game that hasn't used rewind/flashback (sims don't count)?

Civ6 

[bradwiggo]

4 hours ago, LukeSavenije said:

Source: Tweakers (Dutch)

 

Bethesda removed the Denuvo-drm from Rage 2 only two days after releasing. The developers say they have had a 'number' of requests to do that. Earlier it turned out that the version that Bethesda sells through its own launcher did not have Denuvo.

 

 

I don't mind it having a DRM for the first day, even as heavy as Denuvo. It keeps some money for the developers before it gets cracked. So I think it was a bad idea from Bethesda to not running it on their own launcher in the first place.

 

Any thoughts?

Are less people really going to pirate the game if they have to wait a few days? Surely if you plan on pirating it then you would have the patience to wait a few days, don't think having DRM for the first few days will make any difference. Then again all DRM is pointless imo, developers should stop using it, it just hurts consumers. 

[leadeater]

2 minutes ago, bradwiggo said:

Are less people really going to pirate the game if they have to wait a few days? Surely if you plan on pirating it then you would have the patience to wait a few days, don't think having DRM for the first few days will make any difference. Then again all DRM is pointless imo, developers should stop using it, it just hurts consumers. 

Not at all speaking from experience but if you don't intend to pay for the game you'll wait as long as it takes.

[LukeSavenije]

7 minutes ago, bradwiggo said:

Are less people really going to pirate the game if they have to wait a few days? Surely if you plan on pirating it then you would have the patience to wait a few days, don't think having DRM for the first few days will make any difference. Then again all DRM is pointless imo, developers should stop using it, it just hurts consumers. 

the problem with piracy protection in general is that it only works well for a while, after that it'll be cracked by some software or hardware

 

but that first cycle is most important for sales

 

that's why

[Humbug]

Good, it was affecting the load times of the steam version. Although in game fps was unaffected.

[bradwiggo]

10 minutes ago, LukeSavenije said:

the problem with piracy protection in general is that it only works well for a while, after that it'll be cracked by some software or hardware

 

but that first cycle is most important for sales

 

that's why

I don't see how it is though? Surely if you are planning on pirating something you won't mind waiting a few weeks? There will still be plenty of people who buy the game. DRM isn't necessary at all. 

[LukeSavenije]

Just now, bradwiggo said:

I don't see how it is though? Surely if you are planning on pirating something you won't mind waiting a few weeks? There will still be plenty of people who buy the game. DRM isn't necessary at all. 

it's how it happens tho... hard to say much more about it

[Doobeedoo]

Good move. Everyone using it could just stop though. 

[Humbug]

Below is why they had to remove it.

 

 

Probably was asking your CPU to go through some heavy decryption workload each time you start the game.