The creator of Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 has confirmed that the game does not contain the controversial Denuvo anti-piracy technology or any DRM at all.
While Stream on Twitch to reveal the gameplay of the hotly anticipated open-world medieval RPG, Warhorse Studios PR head Tobias Stolz-Zwilling had some robust words to say about the many posts and messages the developer is receiving about Denuvo’s Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 game.
“I can now tell you the exact situation,” he said. “The exact situation is that there will be no Denuvo in KCD2, there will be no DRM system at all. We never confirmed this. Of course, there were some discussions. There was some mismatch, there was some misinformation, but ultimately there will be no Denuvo.
“Therefore, I would like you to close the matter now. Stop writing under every post that Denuvo is in the game, because it’s not. We never announced… we never said it would happen. Like I said, a little misunderstanding.
“That’s something you should really remember, until Warhorse announces something, it’s not true.
“Let’s bury this matter and never talk about it again. We can talk about the game though.
This all stems from an email sent by Plaion’s publisher that seemed to confirm Denuvo I would be used in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. However, this is apparently not the case.
Denuvo is a controversial system used by video game developers and publishers to stem the tide of video game piracy, they hope, by delaying the release of cracked versions of their games sometimes for weeks, maybe months, and in some cases indefinitely. From a publisher’s perspective, Denuvo helps prevent the loss of sales and revenues it could have received if those who pirated the video game at launch would have otherwise purchased it.
However, Denuvo is often criticized by PC gamers for potentially affecting video game performance and even shortening the life of solid-state drives (SSDs). Denuvo has repeatedly denied these claims. In 2021, technology experts in Digital foundry found that a pirated version of Resident Evil Village actually improved performance. Capcom later patched the game.
Indeed, we’ve seen some developers even announce that their games won’t run with Denuvo, much to the delight of PC gamers. In October, BioWare confirmed Dragon Age: Guardian of the Veil it wouldn’t have any kind of third-party DRM, including Denuvo.
As for Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, it is scheduled to release on February 11, 2025. Check out IGN’s Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 First Preview for more information.
Wesley is the UK news editor at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. Wesley can be reached at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wy100@proton.me.
