In order to protect the multiplayer game modes of Doom Eternal, Denuvo has been enlisted to apparently craft a new version of anti-cheat that Denuvo will be offering companies in tandem, or along with, Denuvo anti-tamper. These are two separate applications; one is to prevent piracy, and the other is to prevent cheating.
While many would presume that the announcement of Doom Eternal receiving some much-needed anti-cheat, however, it instead has the fan-base up in arms, as Denuvo has appeared to be a bit more tone-deaf than their previous works have shown.
Denuvo Anti-Cheat is yet another kernel-level anti-cheat, following in the steps of Riot’s Valorant.
If you’ve been living under a rock (which most of us proverbially are due to the pandemic), Riot’s anti-cheat for Valorant is titled Vanguard, an always-on root-level anti-cheat that is ingrained into the most basic level of your PC.
While Valorant has proven to be a fantastically competitive title, their invasive anti-cheat has b been the cause of what seems to be hourly forum posts from users that are concerned about precisely how invasive the anti-cheat system ultimately is, along with how easily it could be turned into a bot-net unbeknownst to users.
With the primary criticism that Riot Games receives in regards to Valorant being their invasive anti-cheat, you’d think that other developers stay far away from a kernel-level program.
Denuvo instead apparently embraced the technology with open-arms, while seemingly celebrating that their anti-cheat is invisible, with no tray icons to inform users that a new application has been installed.
Denuvo states that their anti-cheat only runs while Doom Eternal is open (or any other title that could embrace the technology), and closes once the software it is in charge of overseeing closes. However, this does not remove the risk involved in allowing third-party control over the root of your PC.
The thousands of users that have purchased and installed Doom Eternal on their PCs now have a rather unpleasant surprise; the title has been out for a while already, so it’s well-past the return window. Now, software that puts their PCs at risk has been installed without their express permissions as an effort of either id Software or Bethesda to stymie the efforts of cheaters.
It’s difficult to presume precisely how much risk users are currently in with the efforts of Riot’s Vanguard or Denuvo AC, as it’s impossible to separate users with legitimate concerns from those that are attempting to drum up outrage at anti-cheats in an effort to weaken them. However, a successful attack on either company could result in millions of PCs exposed with no warning or counter. Many users are furious that such an opening has suddenly been installed on their PCs without their express permission, and petitioning storefronts and platforms to authorize returns for the purchases.
