Capcom has quietly removed Denuvo DRM (digital rights management) protection from Resident Evil Village. As per a new report, the controversial anti-tampering tech was removed in the game’s latest update, and it’s no longer listed on its Steam store page. The technology – which is implemented to prevent piracy – is notorious for crippling game performance on PC. The issue was prevalent in Resident Evil Village as well, but Capcom decided to remove the DRM almost two years after its release. Pirates still managed to get the best of Capcom back in 2021, by releasing a cracked version which performed considerably better than the authentic copy.
“Capcom has also removed Denuvo from the game’s Steam store page. As such, we are certain that this removal was intentional, and not accidental,” a report by DSOG states. A Crytek leak from 2020 revealed that Denuvo charges game companies based on how long the software is being used in a title, with the highest fee being collected within the first six months.
The cost tends to rapidly go down over time, and most game titles eventually get rid of it — some within weeks, while others such as Resident Evil Village take years. Capcom has followed a similar strategy with its other titles such as Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes, Devil May Cry 5, and Monster Hunter: World. It will be interesting to see how this DRM-free Resident Evil Village functions overall, given that many PC players had boycotted it due to performance issues.
More recently, Resident Evil Village received a virtual reality mode on the PS VR2 as a free DLC, allowing players to go through the entire game as they once again step into the shoes of protagonist Ethan Winters. It also comes with a dedicated VR tutorial and shooting ranges to master the new format. A demo version is also available to all PS VR2 owners.
Capcom’s latest title Resident Evil 4 (2023) received its Mercenaries Mode free update on April 7, throwing special agent Leon S. Kennedy and other characters into wave-based enemy missions. However, the update also added a bunch of microtransactions to the game’s digital store. In Resident Evil 4, players must collect Spinels by completing missions and exchange them with the Merchant to collect tickets that help upgrade weapons. Now, players who are unwilling to go through that effort can simply pay for those tickets using real money. On Steam, the tickets start at Rs. 169 each, going up to Rs. 409 for a pack of three and Rs. 589 for a pack of five tickets.
Elsewhere, Lily Gao, the voice artist who gave life to Ada Wong in the Resident Evil 4 remake, hit back at the bitter comments she received in regard to her performance. “Being the first Asian actor to portray Ada in the Resident Evil video games is an honour, and I will forever be grateful to our producer and director, for making the decision on authentic representation,” Gao said in an Instagram post, which she previously deactivated in response to the harsh messages. “It’s unfortunate that with the game’s release, also came the all too familiar feeling of ‘I don’t belong’.” She further went on to criticise Asian stereotypes and how an inauthentic casting creates an unhealthy image.
“It is time we stop only capitalising on the sexualised, eroticised, and mysterious Asian woman, and make space to honour every kind of Asian woman,” Gao continued. “My Ada is a survivor. She is kind, just, intelligent, and funny. She is unpredictable, resilient, and absolutely not a stereotype.”