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id Software executive producer Marty Stratton took to Reddit to announce that the much detested Denuvo Anti-Cheat will be removed in the next update for DOOM Eternal. For those who are not aware, the previous update for DOOM Eternal added in the third-party anti-cheat to the game.
Much like the anti-cheat used in Valorant, the Denuvo Anti-Cheat operates with elevated permissions at ring 0, or at the kernel level of a system. To put it simply, if either of these anti-cheats were compromised it could end up being very, very bad for end users. This anti-cheat was also required just to play the game's single player campaign, which angered a lot of fans. Not only that, but there were numerous reports about how the Denuvo Anti-Cheat was causing everything from severe performance issues in DOOM Eternal, to outright causing system instability by way of blue screens of death (BSODs).
On top of that, the Denuvo Anti-Cheat allegedly continued to run after the game itself was uninstalled. It also reinstalled itself without the game being run. The update with Denuvo Anti-Cheat also caused DOOM Eternal to no longer work on Linux. Though not the same anti-cheat, Denuvo Anti-Cheat and the anti-cheat used in Valorant both exhibit the same adverse behaviors on users' machines.
This is something that nobody asked for and has no business being added to a game after the fact. It also has no business being required for a game that is mainly being played for its single player campaign.
Fortunately, id Software has listened to the massive amounts of angry fans. In a lengthy write-up on Reddit, Marty Stratton offers an explanation on why they included the anti-cheat in the first place and why they ultimately decided that removing the anti-cheat in the next update is for the best.
Our team’s original decision to include Denuvo Anti-Cheat in Update 1 was based on a number of factors:
It is important to note that our decision to include anti-cheat was guided by nothing other than the factors and goals I’ve outlined above – all driven by our team at id Software. I have seen speculation online that Bethesda (our parent company and publisher) is forcing these or other decisions on us, and it’s simply untrue. It’s also worth noting that our decision to remove the anti-cheat software is not based on the quality of the Denuvo Anti-Cheat solution. Many have unfortunately related the performance and stability issues introduced in Update 1 to the introduction of anti-cheat. They are not related.
- Protect BATTLEMODE players from cheaters now, but also establish consistent anti-cheat systems and processes as we look ahead to more competitive initiatives on our BATTLEMODE roadmap
- Establish cheat protection in the campaign now in preparation for the future launch of Invasion – which is a blend of campaign and multiplayer
- Kernel-level integrations are typically the most effective in preventing cheating
- Denuvo’s integration met our standards for security and privacy
- Players were disappointed on DOOM (2016) with our delay in adding anti-cheat technology to protect that game’s multiplayer
It is important to note that our decision to include anti-cheat was guided by nothing other than the factors and goals I’ve outlined above – all driven by our team at id Software. I have seen speculation online that Bethesda (our parent company and publisher) is forcing these or other decisions on us, and it’s simply untrue. It’s also worth noting that our decision to remove the anti-cheat software is not based on the quality of the Denuvo Anti-Cheat solution. Many have unfortunately related the performance and stability issues introduced in Update 1 to the introduction of anti-cheat. They are not related.
This update that removes Denuvo Anti-Cheat will be rolled out in the next week or so.
