Denuvo sues anonymous game cracker ‘voices38’ over alleged DRM circumvention — seeks damages after Anti-Tamper protections bypassed in 26 games
DRM battle goes to court.
Anti-Tamper and DRM (Digital Rights Management) software developer Denuvo is taking its fight against video game piracy to court by filing a lawsuit against the anonymous game cracker known as “voices38.” According to TorrentFreak, the company claims that the accused bypassed its Anti-Tamper technology in at least 26 PC games and is seeking monetary damages as well as a court order that would prevent further tampering of its DRM.
In its lawsuit filed on September 14 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Denuvo alleges that the “defendant is a computer hacker who is focused on reverse engineering, hacking, or ‘cracking’ video games employing Denuvo’s Anti-Tamper product. Defendant has bypassed DRM restrictions in copyrighted works, removing protections that allow copyright owners to restrict who may access their works, and allowing for pirated versions of those copyrighted works.” The complaint also named 26 games including popular titles such as Hogwarts Legacy, Black Myth: Wukong, Resident Evil Requiem, and Doom: The Dark Ages.
It is worth mentioning that Denuvo doesn’t actually own the copyrights to any of these games. Meaning that instead of a filing for copyright infringement, the complaint relies on the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA. It essentially prohibits bypassing a digital lock that controls access to a copyrighted work, or distributing tools and instructions that help others to bypass copyright protections.
What makes the case interesting is that Denuvo does not know the real identity of voices38. It only points to the defendant as “an unknown individual or entity” alongside ten other unnamed defendants. The complaint also references Reddit and Discord accounts as well as Steam profiles that Denuvo believes may be connected to the cracking activity. The company could eventually seek information from these platforms as part of its legal proceedings.
Voices38 has been particularly active in recent months, with reports pointing to a growing number of Denuvo-protected game cracks to the anonymous cracker. Recent releases include Star Wars: Outlaws, Persona 3 Reload, and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. For Denuvo, the lawsuit could lead the way in identifying one of the more active figures in the recent video game-cracking scene. That said, the case is still in its early stages, and Denuvo's allegations have yet to be tested in court.
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Kunal Khullar is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. He is a long time technology journalist and reviewer specializing in PC components and peripherals, and welcomes any and every question around building a PC.
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PEnns "What makes the case interesting is that Denuvo does not know the real identity of voices38. It only points to the defendant as “an unknown individual or entity” alongside ten other unnamed defendants"Reply
Hilarious, so who are they exactly suing?? Somebody's internet name?? Good luck!!
Maybe we'll suddenly see 1000s of people calling themselves Voices38...... à la Spartacus...😊 -
usertests Reply
This will be followed very shortly by DMCA subpoenas to Reddit, Steam, and Discord, which are automatically approved by the court and must be fought to prevent information from getting to the malicious entity.PEnns said:"What makes the case interesting is that Denuvo does not know the real identity of voices38. It only points to the defendant as “an unknown individual or entity” alongside ten other unnamed defendants"
Hilarious, so who are they exactly suing?? Somebody's internet name?? Good luck!!
Maybe we'll suddenly see 1000s of people calling themselves Voices38...... à la Spartacus...😊
If they didn't dot their eyes and cross their tees, some or all of them are about to be screwed, big time. -
daftshadow Reply
Bypassing and reverse engineering Denuvo's drm tech which is widely regarded as the toughest in the industry, 26 games as claimed, I think they would cover their tracks when using these public platforms.usertests said:This will be followed very shortly by DMCA subpoenas to Reddit, Steam, and Discord, which are automatically approved by the court and must be fought to prevent information from getting to the malicious entity.
If they didn't dot their eyes and cross their tees, some or all of them are about to be screwed, big time. -
PEnns Replyusertests said:This will be followed very shortly by DMCA subpoenas to Reddit, Steam, and Discord, which are automatically approved by the court and must be fought to prevent information from getting to the malicious entity.
If they didn't dot their eyes and cross their tees, some or all of them are about to be screwed, big time.
There was no piracy involved and the cracker didn't commit anything that would trigger malicious content piracy suit
No jury would convict the guy, even if it came to that. -
Buzdalys We all know denuvo guys are exceptionally evil and stupid, but i really didn't expect them to sue an unknown internet username. Absolute cinema, literally.Reply -
usertests Reply
I hope so, but one slip up could be all it takes. Many people don't take what they're doing seriously until it's too late. Just look at the graveyard of Nintendo fan projects that had to be abandoned because the creators were too easily identifiable.daftshadow said:Bypassing and reverse engineering Denuvo's drm tech which is widely regarded as the toughest in the industry, 26 games as claimed, I think they would cover their tracks when using these public platforms.
In the case of Reddit and Discord, I think both platforms are difficult to use with a VPN, since poor IP reputation can lead to account restrictions, a demand for a phone number, etc.
Maybe so, but the process is the punishment.PEnns said:There was no piracy involved and the cracker didn't commit anything that would trigger malicious content piracy suit
No jury would convict the guy, even if it came to that.
Most cases don't go to trial. They will probably settle if identified.
This happens all the time. The process is initiated, the subpoenas will be flying around, data will preserved, the targets will be sweating, etc.Buzdalys said:We all know denuvo guys are exceptionally evil and stupid, but i really didn't expect them to sue an unknown internet username. Absolute cinema, literally. -
Trake_17 And it a twist if fate, they live in China where IP protection doesn't exist and for which any form IP accountability is impossible. Another victim to the international lack of world order.Reply -
TerryLaze Reply
How do we know that there was no piracy involved?!?PEnns said:There was no piracy involved and the cracker didn't commit anything that would trigger malicious content piracy suit
No jury would convict the guy, even if it came to that.
But even if that person didn't pirate anything themselves, making something that has only one application and that application being illegal, in this case bypassing DRM which would be illegal for anybody even people that bought the game, makes said thing illegal in the eye of the law.
Just the fact that he made a tool, or whatever he made to circumvent denuvo, is already the illegal part.
So this could easily get to court and get these people convicted.
What's impressive to me is that denuvo acknowledged that they suck so incredibly bad at what they do that they have to sue people to make their product viable! -
hush now Reply
we can only hope. I wish the US would emulate China on IP law. then maybe corporations would be forced to make cheaper, better products at a quicker pace instead of just patent trolling for decades and refusing to innovate, which is currently killing competition in tech in this country.Trake_17 said:And it a twist if fate, they live in China where IP protection doesn't exist and for which any form IP accountability is impossible. Another victim to the international lack of world order.