[fm]: 'Rime' Piracy Challenge Defeated Immediately, Devs Remove DRM From Game

The traditional piracy narrative goes like this:

1. The PC version of a game has some form of DRM.
2. Pirates crack it almost immediately.

Sometimes, the narrative goes like this:

1. The PC version of a game has an aggressively obnoxious form of DRM.
2. Reports circulate that the DRM actually has a negative effect on a PC's performance in some way.
3. Pirates crack it almost immediately, taking slightly extra joy in it.

With Tequila Works' new adventure game, Rime, the piracy narrative went like this:

1. The PC version of the game has an aggressively obnoxious form of DRM, called Denuvo
2. Reports have circulated that the DRM actually has a negative effect on a PC's performance
3. Tequila Works states that if pirates can crack Denuvo, it'll remove the DRM from the game
4. Pirates crack it almost immediately

Once upon a time, back in the Long Long Ago (the mid 2000s), there was a relatively new DRM scheme called StarForce. It was actually tough to crack for a while, but like all piracy protection, was eventually defeated. Just like Denuvo now, reports circulated that StarForce had a negative effect on a rig's performance in various ways. Some reports even claimed that legally buying and installing a game protected by StarForce would actually cause more problems for your rig than simply removing -- so, cracking -- StarForce from your software. Denuvo has been around for a few years, and reports claim that the longer it's active on an SSD, the more it can reduce the life of the drive; reports have also claimed that the DRM scheme can disrupt Rime's loading process by making it slower than it should be. 

Denuvo's EULA also states that, once removed from a computer, some files may still remain. That happens with just about every game you've ever uninstalled -- save states, settings files, and so on tend to hang around -- but when it's DRM, and one perceived to be shady or harmful no less, people aren't thrilled about it.

In response to the Denuvo outcry from Rime's PC crowd, Tequila Works said it would remove the DRM from the game if pirates could crack it. The reason, the dev cited, was that cracking a game could lessen the overall experience for players. The logic, basically, is that if the game is going to be cracked anyway, Tequila might as well just release a better and (probably potentially safer) version.

Five days after the challenge, Rime was cracked, and the PC version of the game was released free of DRM. Engadget reports that the devs tweeted that they weren't responsible for deploying Denuvo in the first place, but the tweet has since been deleted.

It's tough being between the DRM rock and customer-pleasing hard place. Developers have to protect their game from piracy somehow, but also even if DRM isn't negatively affecting legit software, it still draws the ire of legit customers. Tequila made good on its DRM-eradicating promise, but those with prematurely dying SSDs probably don't think a DRM-free copy of Rime is worth the price of a new drive.




By: James Plafke (Forbes).

Photo: News One Place.

Review: Emerging Market Formulations & Research Unit, Flagship Records.