Denuvo Anti-Cheat Comes To PS5 To Help Get Rid Of Jerks

The popular anti-cheat software Denuvo is coming to PlayStation 5. The software's owner announced that Denuvo is now part of the PS5 Tools and Middleware program.

What this means is that the Denuvo anti-cheat software--which has been commonplace and controversial on PC for years--can now be used by developers and publishers on PS5.

Denuvo touts its software as having reached more than 2 billion game installs on all platforms, with more than 1,000 games protected by its software.

"Today, as a member of ecosystem players, Denuvo will carry on its mission of bringing fairness and fun back to gaming by providing its Anti-Cheat solution to all developers who want to protect their games and gamers, from hackers and cheaters, on PlayStation 5," the company said.

Denuvo said its anti-cheat tools are capable of protecting online and offline gameplay. "The technology helps game developers protect sensitive game logic or data, preventing cheaters from changing sensitive variables and ensuring its trustworthiness," it said.

The company said "a number" of PS5 launch titles already use Denuvo, but it did not say which ones.

"Cheating ruins video games for honest players," Denuvo boss Reinhard Blaukovitsch said in a statement. "This can lead to lower engagement, game traffic and shrinking revenues for game publishers. We are really proud be able to help the world's most talented developers to bring rich experiences for gamers on Playstation 5."

By nature of being DRM in the first place, Denuvo is often seen as controversial software in the eyes of PC players. One of the main pieces of criticism of Denuvo is that the anti-piracy software has been shown to impact performance in some cases.

The company has acknowledged that no DRM product can stop tampering. What Denuvo offers for publishers is a software that protects initial sales; Denuvo estimates that around 70% of game revenue for a typical title comes within the first two weeks after launch.

Whether or not Denuvo will ever come to Xbox or Nintendo consoles remains to be seen.