Update to Doom Eternal Installs Controversial Anti-Cheat Tool From Denuvo

Developer id Software has released the first major update for Doom Eternal. This includes Empowered Demons that can attack other players. However, the update also has a controversial new anti-cheat feature: Denuvo Anti-cheat

‘Update 1’ is the first major update for Doom Eternal. According to the patch notes, the update will be released simultaneously for all platforms. The most notable update is the addition of ‘Empowered Demons’. In a single player campaign, if a player is killed by an enemy, that enemy becomes an Empowered Demon. That’s a stronger version of the demon. The enemy then appears in other players’ single player game. A player who defeats an Empowered Demon gets extra health, ammo and xp in return. The Empowered Demons feature can be turned off in the settings.

Smaller changes are also being made. For example, there is a new Echelon ranking system for players who reach level 250. Id Software also added an event called Precious Metals. This allows players to unlock new skins for their character or weapons.

The update not only brings new gameplay features, but also a controversial new feature. That’s Denuvo Anti-cheat, a driver that should make it harder to cheat in multiplayer on PC. The driver burrows deep into the operating system kernel, something that many players are uncomfortable with. Denuvo Anti-cheat automatically starts up on game launch, and is active even if players only play single player mode with the new Empowered Demons mode on. It is the first time the tool is used in a game.

Although players can uninstall the anti-cheat tool, it will be reinstalled automatically when the game is restarted. Irdeto, the company that makes Denuvo, says the tool won’t take screenshots or browse files, but acknowledges that its invisibility “can raise eyebrows.”

Update: initially this article referred to Denuvo-DRM. That’s different from Denuvo Anti-Cheat.