A recent research done by William M. Volckmann II at the University of North Carolina shows the financial impact that Denuvo DRM cracks can have on revenue from PC games. The study, named "The Revenue Effects of Denuvo Digital Rights Management on PC Video Games," discovered that piracy can lead to an average total revenue drop of 20 percent when Denuvo gets cracked shortly after a game's launch.
Importance of Protecting Game Releases
This highlights how crucial it is for game publishers to safeguard their titles during those vital first weeks following release. To counteract possible revenue losses, companies might enhance their protections by combining Denuvo with other DRM technologies. However, gamers frequently express concerns regarding the potential performance problems and lack of optimization that can arise.
Long-Term Use of Denuvo
Interestingly, the study indicates that there isn’t much benefit in utilizing Denuvo for a long time, particularly past three months. Volckmann discovered that when a game was cracked after week 12 or when publishers removed Denuvo after this initial stage, there was virtually no total revenue loss on average. He advises publishers to abandon DRM after this period, recognizing that gamers are sensitive to the "negative technical side effects" associated with Denuvo.
Short-Term Strategy for Game Publishers
While publishers may be lured by Denuvo’s capacity to preserve up to 20 percent of revenue in the first 12 weeks—minus the costs of the DRM service—the study did not reveal any dependable way to forecast how long the protection will actually last. Volckmann pointed out that the features of a game don’t effectively predict its likelihood of being cracked, as long as cracking groups show interest.
The results imply that publishers might gain from short-term Denuvo contracts, cutting costs by removing the DRM after those initial 12 weeks. In contrast, longer DRM agreements appear to be a less efficient investment.
