- IO Interactive added Denuvo DRM to 007 First Lighta few days before the launch
- Users on Steam expressed their frustration and issued refund requests
- Denuvo is a controversial DRM due to its potential impact on performance and other PC restrictions.
Players were eager to get acquainted with 007 First Lightwhich is just days away from launching on May 27, 2026, but a recent controversial decision by IO Interactive has fans upset.
As reported by Notebookcheck, developer IO Interactive has added Denuvo DRM to 007 First Light before its launch, and many Steam users started asking for refunds. This comes amid a notable trend of game publishers adding the controversial DRM to games, only after accepting pre-orders.
Unsurprisingly, fans are concerned about the impact Denuvo will have on the game’s performance and, perhaps more importantly, the restrictions caused by DRM (notable for SteamOS users when switching versions from Proton).
This includes the long-term consequences that may arise from the invasive nature of Denuvo on users’ PCs, as it has kernel-level access, which is essentially the highest level of authority on a system.
Users took to the Steam forums to share their frustrations, with one in particular stating: “This is from the wishlist. Denuvo will be bypassed on day one or sooner, and I’ll wait for a big sale on a third-party website to buy it now, when that was what I dove into at launch next week.
User complaints suggest that IO Interactive, and frankly, many other game publishers, are being unresponsive when it comes to Denuvo’s additions, which only seem to happen after pre-orders become available.
If DRM is used to prevent piracy, which it has successfully done in recent years, this is no longer the case today, with many game releases available via Hypervisor crack, and an alarming number of playable builds being leaked before their official launch.
Denuvo is more negative than positive for consumers, but unfortunately this is a potential withdrawal from 007 First Light is unlikely at this stage.
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