We reported yesterday that their latest protection was bypassed or cracked, however copy protection company Denuvo has been acquired by software giant Irdeto as part of a deal provide anti-piracy and anti-cheat solutions for PC, mobile, console, and VR devices.
Denuvo provides technology and services for game publishers and platforms, with Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Warner Bros., and Lionsgate Entertainment among its current list of clients, reports gamesindustry.biz today. Denuvo-protected games have generally been protected from attempts to “crack” them and produce a freely distributable copy, with the earliest versions going months before scene groups found a way around the tech. As usual, the arms race continued over the years, pirates and anti-pirates working to get the better of one another, with varying success.
With the global gaming market estimated to be worth $128.5 billion by 2020, the new deal looks to halt the proliferation of cheating that will accompany such vast growth in the industry. Such problems are evidenced by PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds which has been plagued by cheating following its rise to market dominance.
“The success of any game title is dependent upon the ability of the title to operate as the publisher intended,” said Doug Lowther, CEO, Irdeto. “As a result, protection of both the game itself and the gaming experience for end users is critical. Our partnership brings together decades of security expertise under one roof to better address new and evolving security threats.”
Irdeto Acquires Denuvo, Bringing Together Decades of Security Expertise to Protect the Gaming Industry
Irdeto and Denuvo join forces to combat piracy, protecting games on desktop, mobile, consoles and VR devices for Electronic Arts, UbiSoft, Warner Bros, Lionsgate Entertainment and many others
AMSTERDAM – 23 January 2018 – Irdeto has acquired Denuvo, the world leader in gaming security, to provide anti-piracy and anti-cheat solutions for games on desktop, mobile, console and VR devices. Denuvo provides technology and services for game publishers and platforms, independent software vendors, e-publishers and video publishers across the globe. Current Denuvo customers include Electronic Arts, UbiSoft, Warner Bros and Lionsgate Entertainment, with protection provided for games such as Star Wars Battlefront II, Football Manager, Injustice 2 and others.
With the global gaming market estimated to be worth $128.5 billion by 2020, the partnership between Irdeto and Denuvo brings together decades of security expertise to help prevent revenue loss for game publishers and disrupt undesirable cheating in the gaming environment. Denuvo will continue to operate as usual with all staff retained and the Denuvo HQ along with its sales operations will continue to function. The partnership also enables Irdeto and Denuvo to grow the addressable market for its core technology and anti-piracy services.
“The success of any game title is dependent upon the ability of the title to operate as the publisher intended,” said Doug Lowther, CEO, Irdeto. “As a result, protection of both the game itself and the gaming experience for end users is critical. Our partnership brings together decades of security expertise under one roof to better address new and evolving security threats. We are looking forward to collaborating as a team on a number of initiatives to improve our core technology and services to better serve our customers.”
Denuvo’s anti-tamper technology prevents hackers from copying and reverse engineering games to redistribute the content. Denuvo will leverage Irdeto’s security expertise, anti-piracy technology, Irdeto Cloakware™ software security and application protection technology and IP to strengthen Denuvo’s own core offering.
Cheating on gaming platforms is also a challenge which must be addressed, as it can distort virtual in-game economies. This makes the game less enjoyable or even unplayable for gamers, and can be used to manipulate or bypass in-game micro-transactions. Denuvo’s anti-cheat technology prevents hackers in multi-player games from manipulating and distorting data and code to gain an advantage over other gamers or bypass in-game micro-transactions. This prevents dilution of the value of the game for the user and the game studio.
“Hackers and cybercriminals in the gaming space are savvy, and always have been. It is critical to implement robust security strategies to combat the latest gaming threats and protect the investment in games. Much like the movie industry, it’s the only way to ensure that great games continue to get made,” said Reinhard Blaukovitsch, Managing Director of Denuvo, Irdeto. “In joining with Irdeto, we are bringing together a unique combination of security expertise, technology and enhanced piracy services to aggressively address security challenges that customers and gamers face from hackers.”
The Denuvo technology enables binary protection for games and enterprise applications across multiple platforms, including desktops (windows), consoles (PS4, Xbox), VR devices and mobile gaming. Denuvo also provides additional technologies for use beyond the gaming market to protect B2B software, e-books and video assets for Hollywood studios, including protecting the Hunger Games trilogy.
Denuvo’s anti-tamper technology prevents hackers from copying and reverse engineering games to redistribute the content, using Irdeto’s experience and resources to bolster its own technology.
