Leaks are a disaster for the video game industry and Denuvo seems to have found the ideal solution to combat this scourge. What about it?
At GDC 2024, Irdeto, the company behind anti-piracy software Denuvo, announced new technology to help game developers track down the origins of leaks in their games. This announcement marks a new chapter in the fight against piracy and perhaps even a future revolution for developers? What is certain is that the promise is enough to make publishers dream. We’ll tell you everything.
What is Denuvo?
Denuvo is known as an anti-piracy software that is used in many major PC versions. Its mission is to protect games from pir acy. This extends the period in which games remain exclusive to those who purchase them.
In response to the challenges posed by the leaks, Irdeto, the company behind Denuvo, introduced a new technology called TraceMark for Games. This solution allows developers to insert some sort of mark or digital watermark directly into the game files. This watermark is unique to each distributed copy of the game.
The idea is simple: If information or files from the game end up online before the official release, developers can use this watermark to locate the source of the leak. This means they can identify which specific copy of the game was illegally distributed.
A new method for leak tracking
An interesting feature of TraceMark is that the watermark can be made visible or completely invisible. In its invisible form, the mark is undetectable to the person receiving the copy of the game. So even if a leaker doesn’t know about the existence of the watermark, it can still be traced if the content is leaked.
TraceMark for Games is designed to improve security around game development and pre-distribution. Especially during beta testing phases or when copies are sent out for testing. It integrates well with Irdeto’s other security products such as Denuvo Anti-Tamper and offers multi-layered protection.
With TraceMark for Games, Irdeto offers a new approach to combating leaks in the gaming industry. However, it will be crucial to see how this technology is adopted by the gaming community. Already skeptical about protective measures like Denuvo. TraceMark’s success will depend on its effectiveness in protecting content without compromising the user experience.
