It appears that the controversial anti-piracy software known as Denuvo Anti-Tamper will be used on the upcoming Atlus title Persona 5 Strikers, otherwise known as Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers, when it launches next year.
If you haven’t heard of Denuvo before, it’s essentially a Digital Rights Management (DRM) software that’s supposed to help both publishers and developers of PC titles prevent individuals from committing piracy without having to spend a ton of money just to develop a DRM software of their own.
The video game community, at this point, is familiar with anti-piracy software such as this. But the problem is that Denuvo is infamous for reducing the performance of a game it is used on.
See, PC gamers care about performance a lot — they spend thousands of dollars just to get the best PC set up to ensure that the games they play are seamless at the highest of framerates. As such, it can be frustrating to spend all that money just for an anti-piracy software to hamper the performance.
Even though Denuvo is commonly used by developers and publishers as a way to curb piracy concerning their games, it’s a software that isn’t usually advtertised due to the fact it has such a negative reputation.
Most of the time, fans won’t find out that Denuvo is utilized in a game at least until it gets an official listing on Steam, as the Steam page would indicate if the title is making use of a third-party DRM or not. Another way for fans to discover that Denuvo is used is if they attempt to mod the game, as the Anti-Tamper software makes modding next to impossible.
In the case of Persona 5 Strikers, its Steam listing is now available in order for fans to either pre-purchase the game or add it to their wishlist. Understandably, some fans have gotten concerned or wary about this discovery, as most gamers have a strong dislike for this particular software. As a matter of fact, there are articles upon articles on the internet simply explaining why this specific DRM software is so hated upon.
https://twitter.com/MrSpacePan/status/1337259631433961472?s=20
//PERSONA 5 SCRAMBLE ON THE STEAM STORE, LET'S G-
Sees that P5S is not even safe from Denuvo Anti-Tamper DRM like P4G.
//You have got to be kidding me…
— тнe тaмвoυrιne player, aмιga! (@MexicanPopIdol) December 11, 2020
That being said, there’s still a brightside to hold on to. Those who are worried that Denuvo Anti-Tamper might put a damper on their Persona 5 Strikers experience shouldn’t have to worry for too long. After all, developers have a tendency to remove the software a few months after the game’s release.
Square Enix, for instance, eventually removed Denuvo from the PC version of Trials of Mana, which significantly decreased the game’s file size after the fact. The same thing happened to other titles such as Resident Evil 3, Prey, and Dragon Quest Builders 2.
There are two common reasons why developers decide to remove the software at some point. For one thing, it’s apparently a very expensive software for developers to continuously make use of. On the other hand, fans complain so much about Denuvo that developers decide to just remove it.
The highly-anticipated Persona 5 Strikers is scheduled to release on February 23, 2021 for PC, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4. Unlike the other localized Persona titles, this one required the English voice cast to record their lines from the safety of their own homes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
