Much To Gamers Delight Playdead Removes Denuvo Support From Inside

Inside is a puzzle-platformer adventure game that follows the story of a boy, hunted and alone, who finds himself drawn into the center of a dark project. Players control the young, red-shirted boy as he explores the surreal environment, paying attention not to put him in dangerous situations.

The game itself is very dark with very few colors or sounds. Players control the little boy who walks, swims, climbs, and moves objects to overcome obstacles. The boy can die in various ways, but players can quickly resume the game from the last successful checkpoint.

Inside was launched in July and supported Denuvo back then. To fans’ delight, Playdead, the game’s developer, recently announced that Denuvo support has been removed. No explanation was provided as to why this decision was taken.

Denuvo is used by major titles, such as Battlefield 1, FIFA 17 or Dishonored 2. However, most players are against it and consider it a tool that limits game performance.

Playdead’s move is indeed a bold one taking into account the current trend. The latest major titles released or the upcoming ones, for that matter, feature or will feature Denuvo support.

Gamers welcomed Playdead’s decision to remove Denuvo and many actually decided to buy the game for this reason alone: “Bought the game today because of the DRM removal. Thank you!”

Gamers also believe that Playdead took this decision because Inside is already cracked, so there was no reason to support Denuvo anymore.

The fact that a small gaming company took such a major decision could make major developers and publishers change their mind and remove Denuvo as well.

It took six weeks to crack Inside, not six months. Still a critical 6 weeks for sales, but Denuvo ain’t cheap. I have to question the return on investment, considering that “investment” includes the money they need to pay Denuvo Software Solutions and the loss of business / goodwill from customers who refuse to buy Denuvo-protected games. Just some food for thought.