There’s a week left until the release of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, and Saber has already published final summary of details on the Steam blog. Alongside the global launch map (or two maps, technically, since they’re pulling this “pay more to play earlier” nonsense), there’s a massive Q&A covering all your burning questions about burning ‘nids. Among them is the confirmation that, no, the action game will not implement DRM software like Denuvo.
To start, here’s a global release map. The actual one, not the chump chart:
Here are some selected items from the Q&A session:
- Will the game support crossplay and can it be disabled?
Yes, full cross-platform play between Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S will be supported from day one.
You will be able to play Campaign and PvE modes without any restrictions, but please note that for fairness and balance, cross-platform play in the Eternal War PvP mode will be split between PC players in one group (Steam and EGS) and console players in another (PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S).
You will also have the option to disable cross-platform play if you prefer to only play with people on the same platform as you.
- Are there any restrictions on which classes can be played in “Operations” (PvE)? What about “Eternal War” (PvP)?
In Operations mode, your squad can only have one Space Marine of each class. In Eternal War mode, the limit is two players per class and per squad.
There won’t be teams made up exclusively of snipers, but you’ll have plenty of strategic options!
- Will the game be playable on Steam Deck?
We are working on official Steam Deck support, but it is not ready yet. Our current plan is to have full Steam Deck support available by the end of the year.
- Will the game have official mod support (e.g. NexusMods, mod.io)?
We currently have no plans for official mod support.
- What fraud protection system is used?
At first we will be using Easy Anti Cheat on PC.
- Does the game utilize DRM software (e.g. Denuvo…)?
NO.
Could the lack of DRM have something to do with the entire game leaking months ago? Possibly. As is well known, piracy doesn’t directly translate into lost sales. Denuvo obviously has a pretty bad reputation for negatively impacting performance. It’s possible that Saber figured that anyone planning to pirate the game had already done so, so avoiding the much-maligned DRM software was a win-win.
Whether DRM software (specifically Denuvo) has a significant impact on performance is a matter of debate. Denuvo’s owner, Irdeto, doesn’t think so. Last July, Steve Huin, their COO of video games (great title), promised to prove that software wasn’t the problem. Speaking to Ars TechnicaHuin outlined plans to provide “trusted media” with two copies of the game – one with Denuvo and one without – to conduct their own testing.
I’m not saying it didn’t happen, although I haven’t found any evidence yet that it did. Let me know if you see any and I’ll update the article. There’s compelling evidence that Denuvo really does make games worse, including Digital Foundry’s own tests with a cracked version of Resident Evil: Village, but there is also evidence to the contrary.
What crazy post-truth times we live in! Really, there are only two things you can trust in this world: the delicious taste of Biscoff and the guiding lithe of the Emperor of Mankind, Ian E. Mporer. Oh, and maybe Saber’s line on microtransactions, since they’re sticking with their “cosmetics only” approach to optional purchases.
