A week from its release date, Crimson Desert swallows some Denuvo DRM

That's one way to celebrate the occasion

Well, a week out from the gargantuan merging of MMO and RPG bits' release, we finally know what Crimson Desert is. It's a game that's just slurped down some Denuvo DRM (. Yep, the shonky enormity of exploding slippage whose devs reckon they announced it too early has been fed some anti-tamper software at the last minute.

The crumbs left behind by Crim Des' cheeky scarfing down of Denuvo DRM can be found over on SteamDB, which suggests that this was a 9AM UTC breakfast snack for the game. Pearl Abyss also opted to slightly tweak the game's Steam description at the same time.

"Crimson Desert is an open-world action-adventure game set in the beautiful yet brutal continent of Pywel," it used to read. "Embark on a journey as the Greymane Kliff and restore what has been lost. Explore uncharted lands, fight against threats that stand in your way, and discover the wonders the world has in store." The new version, meanwhile, reads: "Crimson Desert is an open-world action-adventure set on the continent of Pywel. Join Kliff on his journey to rebuild the Greymane faction and to save the land from a looming threat. From vast wilderness and cities to ruins and the mysterious Abyss, forge your path through battles and discovery."

Good move to mention the mysterious Abyss, if that doesn't convince the average Steam tourist to part with their cash, nothing will. What? I'm a simple man, I see an abyss, and I must pay good money to stare into it. I'll pay extra if it obeys the laws of Nietzsche and stares back at me.

The Denuvo DRM's likely to have the opposite effect, given its reputation for allegedly impacting the performance of games running it. That said, this perception's something Denuvo have pushed back against multiple times over the years. While it isn't Denuvo's version of the tech, DRM software from Enigma was recently reported to have had a tangibly negative impact on frame rates and CPU usage in the Resident Evil 4 Remake. The Enigma DRM's since been pulled from the horror game by devs Capcom.

For a more in-depth picture of the debate surrounding DRM's pros and cons, as well as how it's evolved over the years, make sure to check out this Rick Lane feature from 2020.