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Rime Dev Will Drop Denuvo DRM If Game Is Cracked

"Nothing is infallible," developer Tequila Works says.

48 Comments

The PC version of the recently released indie adventure game Rime uses Denuvo DRM for its anti-tampering mechanism, as a number of other games do.

Its use of Denuvo has not been without controversy, and now the game's developer has responded. In a post on Steam (via Kotaku), Tequila Works said it had "discussions" internally about using Denuvo at all, and ultimately chose to to "ensure the best gaming experience."

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"Rime is a very personal experience told through both sight and sound," the developer said.

"When a game is cracked, it runs the risk of creating issues with both of those items, and we want to do everything we can to preserve this quality in Rime."

Tequila Works said it remains committed to this stance, but at the same time, the developer acknowledged that "nothing is infallible." As a result, if Rime does get cracked, the studio will release a Denuvo-free version of the game "and update existing platforms."

GameSpot will report back with more details on Rime's status as it relates to DRM in the days and weeks ahead. The console versions of Rime will always have some form of DRM.

DRM, which stands for digital rights management, is a controversial and debated topic in gaming. Assassin's Creed publisher Ubisoft has admitted that DRM cannot stop piracy, while The Witcher developer CD Projekt Red doesn't put any DRM on its PC games because it thinks DRM is the "worst thing in the gaming industry."

GameSpot' Rime review scored the game a 6/10.

"Each world is enchanting in its own way, from the naturalistic peace of the first to the abstract doom of the last," reviewer Oscar Dayus said. "Its soundtrack is similarly beautiful, capable of evoking wonder, tension, and fear in equal measure. But when compared to its influences like Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and Journey, it doesn't hold up too well. Consistent navigation problems, some frustrating puzzles, fiddly platforming, and severe frame rate dips make Rime feel like a well-dressed tribute act."

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vackillers2017

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yep game got cracked lol. Lets see if the dev will stay true to their word :D

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poormaz

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The game is cracked.

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Lorikat

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lol "IF"

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Tonkinese

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Hey gamespot DENUVO IS NOT DRM how about for once in you VET YOUR INFORMATION

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ECH71

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Edited By ECH71

@tonkinese: A lot of people say that it's not DRM but that's like saying "Guns don't kill people, people kill people".

Denuvo is anti-tamper with, so far, only ONE purpose, to prevent modifications that could lead to a circumvention of the "primary" DRM, thus it effectively IS a DRM.

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nyran125tk

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At least get a score over 7 at gamespot, before thinking your game is so pure and awesome :)

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Thanatos2k

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If you're going to release it without DRM if the DRM gets cracked, why did you release it with DRM? To just screw with your customers?

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juxax

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who the **** cares enough about indie gash to go that far out of their way to torrent...nothing? i think someone is hoping for some free publicity.

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nyran125tk

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@juxax: i didnt even know this game existed until this story.

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renegade67rick

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wasn't it already cracked a few days back, I kow ive seen it. Someones a little late to the party on this article

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Pyrosa

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So we can expect that version sometime this afternoon, then?

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tachsniper

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Denuvo is expensive and doesn't stop piracy. Resident Evil 7 was cracked within days, and all major releases are cracked within a month or two.

Good games sell, shitty games don't. Piracy has nothing to do with it.

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chiefwiggum16

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should be any day now then

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Sammymorris86

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its already on torrent sites so.... sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

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Ice-Cube

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That's one way to get crackers motivated, let's see how long this takes.

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speed45823

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Someone was high AF when making that statement.

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R4gn4r0k

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I just don't understand: why do they spend all this money on DRM...

And yet that money could've gone to optimizing the game more because the DRM effectively stops nothing.

I'm gonna take a stance here and no longer buy games that have Denuvo in them.

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deactivated-5b797108c254e

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"Rime is a very personal experience told through both sight and sound," the developer said. When a game is cracked, it runs the risk of creating issues with both of those items"

Yup. I hate when a gorgeous looking game is cracked and it turns into an 8-bit game with mono sound....

14 • 
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Pyrosa

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@korvus: Excellence

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Moonco

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Moonco  Moderator

"Any kind of DRM can be cracked" - Albert Einstein, 1922

13 • 
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ECH71

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@moonco: Had me in stitches. ;')

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BigGamerDude

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@moonco: "i fukd your mum bro" stalin to hitler

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asnakeneverdies

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@moonco: DRM was quite the problem back in early 20th century Europe.

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R4gn4r0k

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Edited By R4gn4r0k

@moonco: "Fcuk I hate this DRM so much" - Gandhi

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Moonco

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@R4gn4r0k: No idea Gandhi had such a filthy mouth. Makes me wanna march right down to India and spank his corpse

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DanZillaUK

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Edited By DanZillaUK

@moonco: Where do you think his habit of dropping nukes on others originated? First came frustration, then he began venting and took it just a smidge too far.

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Pyrosa

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@DanZillaUK: ...as chronicled in the historical documentary Civilization II.

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R4gn4r0k

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@moonco: He was just an avid DRM hater, and we should all follow his teachings.

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ECH71

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Edited By ECH71

They can do whatever they want. If a game is released with extreme DRM, even if it's removed later, that franchise is dead to me.

I stopped buying games from series I really enjoyed and have all the past games of (Deus Ex, Mirror's Edge, Tomb Raider, Hitman, Mass Effect, Dishonored etc) so I have no problems not buying games from new series like this one.

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TheWeirdOne

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Edited By TheWeirdOne

@ECH71: So you stopped buying some really good games, that you really enjoyed the franchise of for some "protest" against DRM (which is never going away). Damn; I know I won't limit my fun/enjoyment like that; but you are the person that actively says you pirate games, so I don't anyone going to take you seriously.

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SinspaW

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@theweirdone: Strong DRM's can poorly influence the experience of the customers who BUY the game, as was the case with Splinter Cell and many others. When that happens, its purpose failed. It's bad enough when triple A companies do it, but indie companies marring the experience of their own customers because of the fear of being pirated is outright ridicuolous, especially since I imagine there's very little overlap in people who will buy an indie game because it's not cracked. People only pirate games won't start buying them all of a sudden because they're uncrackable. Furthermore, piracy has certainly contributed to the buying of games. I personally have bought games that I had pirated because I really enjoyed the experience.

Heavy DRM on an indie game is wrong for a plethora of reasons.

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ECH71

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@SinspaW:

Exactly. I wouldn't have spent hundreds of dollars on (mostly collector edition) Mass Effect series games, DLCs, comics, books and collectibles if I didn't sample pirate copies. It's a real shame that they're now using Denuvo.

Potential life-long fan... lost.

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ECH71

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Edited By ECH71

@theweirdone: If someone doesn't take me seriously because I've been honest enough to admit to pirating games then they need to understand that not everyone pirates games just to play for free. For people like me, piracy is a means of acquiring a "backup" copy of a game -- at least, games that aren't 100% multiplayer. I have pirate copies of every game I own so that when/if Steam/Origin/UPlay/etc go down permanently, I am not without game -- you know, that sense of ownership as oppose to that sense of renting something.

I agree DRM isn't going to go away any time soon, but the more aggressive it is, the more my rights are affected and the more insulted I feel as a customer. It's like being assigned personal security guard when walking into a grocery store, not for my personal security but to make sure I don't steal anything. Why the hell would I want to buy anything from that store after an experience like that?

3 • 
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KamiNoBeniMizu

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Since when are games NOT cracked? Is Denuvo that awesome it prevents cracking...? Why go through the hassle of adding it and then removing the DRM when it gets cracked? Why not keeping it or even update it at this point?

Just feels like they got bored and decided to make a marketing stunt.

Developer:Hey crackers! Crack our game and we'll remove the DRM!

Cracker:Challenge accepted!

6 • 
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ECH71

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Edited By ECH71

@kaminobenimizu: They accepted the challenge before anyone said anything.

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KamiNoBeniMizu

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@ECH71: That's so true. They are always on "Challenge accepted" mode!

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deactivated-64efdf49333c4

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Well, this thing should be cracked by about, oh, noon tomorrow, you think?

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asmoddeuss

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Edited By asmoddeuss

"When a game is cracked, it runs the risk of creating issues with both of those items, and we want to do everything we can to preserve this quality in Rime."

What? Is Rime an Online Multiplayer game or what?

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deactivated-5e83c14458072

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"Rime is a very personal experience told through both sight and sound. When a game is cracked, it runs the risk of creating issues with both of those items, and we want to do everything we can to preserve this quality in Rime."

LOL. It's okay if they don't want to lose money, so why lie about the reason why they're doing this? Comments like these make me sick. Just be honest about it, nothing wrong with that. People are not stupid.

5 • 
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gamerboy100

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It's not a matter of "if," but "when."

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eva02langley

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"Denuvo for best gaming experience"... 6/10

Sure...

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BigGamerDude

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@eva02langley: ill have you know its stands at a strong 81 at metacritic. GS was an exception, just their review isnt representative of the game

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SkytheWiz1

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Edited By SkytheWiz1

Sure! And I'll buy it as soon as they lower the price for which they upped it to cover the cost of the DRM system that will fail.

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TiringPillow

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That nerd on here with the archer avatar who always wines about denuvo will be happy to here this lol

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ECH71

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Edited By ECH71

@tiringpillow: It does not affect me one way or the other since its inclusion of Denuvo has precluded me from showing any interest in this game.

It is interesting however, that you consider my campaigning for the consumer rights of video gamers as "whining". Something tells me you enjoy being the submissive in the S&M relation between the games publishers and yourself.

6 • 
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TiringPillow

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@ECH71: It makes me feel good okay. The ball gag always gets me.

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mogan

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mogan  Moderator

If?

6 •