Gotham Knights was released in October 2022. More than three years have passed since its launch, and Warner Bros has decided that now is a good time to remove Denuvo, the anti-piracy protection system that has been included with the game since release.
In the piracy scene, there was already a version of the game without Denuvo, so this change does not bring anything new to those who downloaded illegal copies. However, it is important for players who own the original version of the game.
Why Removing Denuvo Matters
Denuvo is a protection system used to prevent piracy, especially during the first months after a game launches, when sales are usually at their highest. Each company decides how long to keep it active. Some remove it after a few months, others after a few weeks, and some keep it for several years.
Warner Bros chose the last option with Gotham Knights. Removing Denuvo is important because this technology can negatively affect game performance. It runs extra checks and operations that use CPU resources, and depending on how it is implemented, it can reduce performance to different degrees.
Warner Bros has also removed Denuvo from Back 4 Blood and Mortal Kombat 11, two older titles that likely no longer have high sales.
Capcom also removed Denuvo from Resident Evil 4 Remake. However, in that case, it replaced it with another DRM system that reportedly had an even greater impact on performance, which led to criticism from players.
