Capcom ditched Denuvo DRM only to add new one: Enigma, and it gets worse

[KeradSnake]

Summary

New discovery from players of Resident Evil Revelations reveals that Capcom has been implementing new DRM called Enigma for their games (some of the older ones, for now) as replacement for Denuvo. The new DRM was discovered when there was a sudden update for RE Revelations, and this DRM basically prevents modding or use of cheat engine, and perhaps much worse, tanks the performance 10 - 15FPS with constant stutters. Numerous reports also said that every Capcom games with this DRM can't be played on Steam Deck at all. Capcom reverted the updates few hours after but only for RE Revelations. But shortly after, it gets even worse again, as another report coming out that the new DRM has over 34 detected malware inside, and allegedly the DRM was made by only one random russian with a questionable 'company' that has no address (only stated it's located in Moscow) and barely registered in Russia, which could basically qualifies as dummy company

 

The list of games that received DRM update are Resident Evil 6, Resident Evil 5, Resident Evil Revelations (reverted), Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, Capcom Arcade Stadium, Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium, Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection Vol. 1, Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection Vol. 2, Mega Man Zero/ ZX Legacy Collection, and 64bit version of Strider

 

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Original link (post removed by OP because they were unable to handle overwhelming amount of replies) 

https://twitter.com/dinocrusher/status/1745709908455010318

https://twitter.com/dinocrusher/status/1745745411267063923

 

My thoughts

ooooooooh nononono this is just not looking great at all. All of this, just because of a wink wink mod showed on a SF6 tournament??? Like, come on Capcom you literally cooked so damn good last year, well at least until you released that presentation that basically says modding is cheating and some mods also 'potentially morally questionable and could ruin company reputation' and game price hasn't really gone up yet, but we were like oh ok that's just bad presentation, no, bad capcom. But now you're slowly doing this for real now? Denuvo is already bad enough, Monster Hunter mod video takedown is also frustrating enough, and now this?? 

 

Like, if you really worried about a small time local tourney being streamed and some weirdo accidentally leaving smut mods on, then they would also have to contend with the fact that half the SF6 character design is... something. And while the detection is yet to be researched more because it could be false positive, the fact that Capcom even paid this one DRM 'company' with no reputation at all is also looking real fishy.

 

Sources: Included in quotes and https://steamdb.info/app/222480/history/

[Mark Kaine]

but not SFV? lol...

[KeradSnake]

15 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

but not SFV? lol...

Ikr? Not even SF6 and RE4, probably they're just testing but even from this the conclusion are pretty much BIG NO

[Thaldor]

Another corporation pisses on it's paying customers!

 

Also aren't all of those games more or less old? At least I don't recall any of those being recent remakes but like at least SF 30th Anniversary is from 2018 and Resident Evil Revelations is from 2010 and not in the immediate remake list?

 

Well, anyway, if you can't get updates, you can't get questionable new DRMs.

[Mark Kaine]

imo everyone should demand a refund + compensation FROM STEAM AND CAPCOM, also perhaps criminal investigation for spreading a Russian virus?

[Mark Kaine]

3 minutes ago, Thaldor said:

if you can't get updates, you can't get questionable new DRMs.

yeah ... except these updates are forced, you cant play without updating  - AFAIK there isn't really a workaround currently.  

[Thaldor]

3 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

yeah ... except these updates are forced, you cant play without updating  - AFAIK there isn't really a workaround currently.  

Ain't a problem if you have a sails and flag as dark as the night and a bottle of rum and you yarr harr findle dindee, do what you want 'cause a *cough cough* is free.

 

And before you give any moral sermons, scroll up and read the OP again and you might find how low the corporations moral fence is and just under it you might find the height that I recommend for everyone. Also, I don't have almost unlimited resources and power to do the charitable work first, especially for someone who doesn't seem to be a single bit charitable themselves.

[starsmine]

I saw reverted on RE revelations went to check steam


"small update"

[TetraSky]

They seriously updated a 12 year old game just to cripple it further?

What a waste of resources... What's the point of adding a new DRM to an old game. It was already pirated long ago. There's no saving those sales.

[starsmine]

24 minutes ago, TetraSky said:

They seriously updated a 12 year old game just to cripple it further?

What a waste of resources... What's the point of adding a new DRM to an old game. It was already pirated long ago. There's no saving those sales.

Quitely try it out before pushing it onto RE engine games I guess.

I have no idea how to punish a company for this kind of shit. Gamers have no backbone to protest 99 times out of 100. asking for a refund for a game I bought in 2014 that I would rather keep in my steam library is a shit solution. 

They also didnt update the store page about the new DRM so im reporting the store listings for malware and not notifying purchasers

[leadeater]

2 hours ago, KeradSnake said:

as another report coming out that the new DRM has over 34 detected malware inside

Just be careful about reports like these. DRM software like this often gets flagged and it's just false positive because of the (intrusive garbage) behavior and code they do as their normal functionality.

[leadeater]

53 minutes ago, starsmine said:

asking for a refund for a game I bought in 2014 that I would rather keep in my steam library is a shit solution. 

It would never be granted too, so you really are left with zero options other than complaining on the internet (rarely effective) or get the situation in front of someone with actual influence (also difficult).

[starsmine]

7 minutes ago, leadeater said:

Just be careful about reports like these. DRM software like this often gets flagged and it's just false positive because of the (intrusive garbage) behavior and code they do as their normal functionality.

Im not sure I agree with framing it as a false positive. I understand your point, but its a piece of software that acts maliciously on my computer at the end of the day and provides NO benefit for me to run.

This code is not necessary for the normal functionality of the software, in fact it has shown to be detremental. Software like a non-live-service game has the expectation that it only interacts with the proper API that the OS gives it access to. 

And giving that kind of DEEP access of a PC that has been on LANS with computers that may contain Secret documents at some point(not top secret, just secret), to a random Russian with closed-source code is just generally seen as unwise.

[leadeater]

6 minutes ago, starsmine said:

Im not sure I agree with framing it as a false positive. I understand your point, but its a piece of software that acts maliciously on my computer at the end of the day and provides NO benefit for me to run.

Yea but it's also not correct to label it as virus or 'malicious software' unless it actually is. Those words have a meaning for a reason.

 

6 minutes ago, starsmine said:

This code is not necessary for the normal functionality of the software, in fact it has shown to be detremental.

No that actually is the point of the DRM software. The impact it has and you not liking it doesn't change that it is what the software actually does and is normal.

 

This is not a "everything is fine" or I support this, it's just pointing out if the software was made to do something and that is what it is doing then it is it's regular function. It being forced on you is a different matter from a legitimate security safety concern.

[starsmine]

9 minutes ago, leadeater said:

Yea but it's also not correct to label it as virus or 'malicious software' unless it actually is. Those words have a meaning for a reason.

 

No that actually is the point of the DRM software. The impact it has and you not liking it doesn't change that it is what the software actually does and is normal.

 

This is not a "everything is fine" or I support this, it's just pointing out if the software was made to do something and that is what it is doing then it is it's regular function. It being forced on you is a different matter from a legitimate security safety concern.

Malicious software does exactly what it is meant to do as well. Just Not known to the person who downloads it, such as in this case. 
Im not sold on the argument that because DRM is doing DRM that it is not malicious.

I struggle to see how this piece of software is anything but purely antagonistic at is core. In ways that don't make sense as it does not retroactively break all the pirated versions out there that have existed for over ten years nor does it in any way prevent casual piracy(the kind DRM like this is meant to combat) more than steam DRM does.

If Capcoms argument is about modding, rather than piracy, I'm questioning the legality of that line of thinking. I am not sure Capcom has the legal right to lock that down as mods are not Distribution of their IP and as far as I recall, for PERSONAL uses, modification is legal. This is why you can buy things like Riff Trax for movies and be legally protected as all it is is an audio file you synch up with the movie to modify your viewing experience. I dont think a case like this has legal precedent though.

 

 

[leadeater]

8 minutes ago, starsmine said:

Malicious software does exactly what it is meant to do as well. Just Not known to the person who downloads it, such as in this case. 
Im not sold on the argument that because DRM is doing DRM that it is not malicious.

Yes and malicious software is designed to be malicious and is doing malicious activity. Software layering over another for the purpose of protecting it from outside influence and modification, DRM, isn't malicious, it's unwanted (for you).

 

That's why there is a category of software in security/AV world called Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP) which is the more correct label for this.

[Godlygamer23]

6 minutes ago, starsmine said:

Malicious software does exactly what it is meant to do as well. Just Not known to the person who downloads it, such as in this case. 
Im not sold on the argument that because DRM is doing DRM that it is not malicious.

DRM is the norm. It's been the norm for a while, regardless of the actual impact on the software. Defining the software's functionality and verifying that it's performing those functions doesn't imply approval of the methods, and DRM is certainly not going away any time soon.

 

IMO, I find DRM to be absolutely pointless. Companies continue to create and utilize DRM to prevent people from pirating or modding their software, but those same individuals will continue to find ways to circumvent it, which has the unfortunate effect of reducing performance for individuals that just want to enjoy the software, which pushes them to use the pirated and/or modded versions. 

 

Also unfortunately, the only real way to win against it is to simply not buy the software, but in this case, if the game is compelling enough to people and they're willing to deal with the performance issues, it's not going to happen. 

 

In order for this stuff to go away, a lot of effort has to be put into it. A lot has to happen. But I doubt it's ever going to go away.

[KeradSnake]

2 hours ago, Thaldor said:

Another corporation pisses on it's paying customers!

 

Also aren't all of those games more or less old? At least I don't recall any of those being recent remakes but like at least SF 30th Anniversary is from 2018 and Resident Evil Revelations is from 2010 and not in the immediate remake list?

 

Well, anyway, if you can't get updates, you can't get questionable new DRMs.

RE5 is 2009

RE6 2012
REvelations is 2012

SF 30th Anniversary is yes, 2018

 

I do think they're just testing it for now because the games they put these on are older titles, but yeah like I said, no. Just no

[Mark Kaine]

1 hour ago, leadeater said:

It would never be granted too, so you really are left with zero options other than complaining on the internet (rarely effective) or get the situation in front of someone with actual influence (also difficult).

i wouldn't be so sure, i think these new fangled anti gatekeep laws in the eu technically don't even allow forced updates... so forced updates that make your product worse and are of highly questionable source could very well trigger a response  (up to 10% of global revenue in fines, iirc) 

 

sidenote: i have a legal protection insurance 

 

 

[Mark Kaine]

2 hours ago, Thaldor said:

Ain't a problem if you have a sails and flag as dark as the night and a bottle of rum and you yarr harr findle dindee, do what you want 'cause a *cough cough* is free.

 

And before you give any moral sermons, scroll up and read the OP again and you might find how low the corporations moral fence is and just under it you might find the height that I recommend for everyone. Also, I don't have almost unlimited resources and power to do the charitable work first, especially for someone who doesn't seem to be a single bit charitable themselves.

oh, yeah, yeah, but then you also miss out on many features,  like mercenaries mode - the single best reason to own re games for example, and some games may not even be available (at least initially) 

 

 

2 hours ago, TetraSky said:

What's the point of adding a new DRM to an old game.

if the allegations of "russian guy without company" are true it's pure pettiness imho, someone got real salty their old games are still being played mostly because of the huge modding scene... developers don't want you to play their old games, they want you to buy the new one afterall!  honestly i find this really curious how they got this idea of putting basically a riot 2.0 rootkit* thingy in their games all of the sudden (denovo definitely never worked to prevent mods, it did at least partially, work to prevent piracy) 

 

*speculation, but let's be real, it probably is lol

[leadeater]

2 hours ago, Mark Kaine said:

i wouldn't be so sure, i think these new fangled anti gatekeep laws in the eu technically don't even allow forced updates... so forced updates that make your product worse and are of highly questionable source could very well trigger a response  (up to 10% of global revenue in fines, iirc) 

 

sidenote: i have a legal protection insurance 

You still wouldn't get it, not just from the fact that it's a 14 year old game but you'd be litigating Steam etc not Capcom for that

[KeradSnake]

29 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

oh, yeah, yeah, but then you also miss out on many features,  like mercenaries mode - the single best reason to own re games for example, and some games may not even be available (at least initially) 

Mercenaries mode are available on RE4, 5, 6, 8, 4 Remake be it yarr yarr or you buy it, wdym?

 

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someone got real salty their old games are still being played mostly because of the huge modding scene... developers don't want you to play their old games, they want you to buy the new one afterall!  honestly i find this really curious how they got this idea of putting basically a riot 2.0 rootkit* thingy in their games all of the sudden

Capcom so far has never been against people playing older titles, but they stated in that bad presentation about modding that they looked at some parts of modding community and thought 'yeah it's not good for our reputation morally'.

 

while at the same time creating the most 'hot damn' fighting game that is SF6 and that one Ashley part in the OG RE4.

 

Literally don't understand the person at Capcom who uttered this double standard.

[AndreiArgeanu]

It's always the paying customer that gets screwed when companies introduce the stupid DRM. Why in GODs name are they even adding it now? Some understanding can be given if it's a newly released game because it can help with sales. I think RDR2 went uncracked for quite a while because of it's DRM. But old games? They've been cracked and redistributed to no end. Who at Capcom thought this was a good idea?

[Mark Kaine]

2 hours ago, KeradSnake said:

Mercenaries mode are available on RE4, 5, 6, 8, 4 Remake be it yarr yarr or

oh, i meant online... i doubt that works, but if so then ok you wouldn't miss out. 

[Mark Kaine]

2 hours ago, KeradSnake said:

Capcom so far has never been against people playing older titles

maybe... but generally this is an old and tested method,  make your old games worse or unplayable,  more people will buy the new one(s) (Streisand effect) 

 

2 hours ago, KeradSnake said:

Literally don't understand the person at Capcom who uttered this double standard

well, yeah, they don't want nude pics from all their popular characters circulating,  i understand that,  on the other hand its a bit too late for that and also the method is obviously highly questionable. 

 

Koei Tecmo tried that years ago, but through lawyers (lol) and utterly failed.

 

also nigh dead developer currently btw, i know they scrap by, but the glory days are over, probably what capcom has to expect too if they don't reverse course, i think capcom fans in general are highly sensitive to this stuff (Russian spyware, and no modding... i just cant see this go the way capcom thinks it does) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯