I've heard that Denuvo can be configured the same way. Caused some trouble with a recent GTA5 patch.
Everyone seems to have heard lots of things about Denuvo. I'm open to be proven wrong, but as far as I can tell, none of it is true. And I've looked into this pretty extensively.
The thing is, this kind of stuff is actually contrary to the way that Denuvo works. Denuvo isn't DRM, it's an anti-tamper technology. It PROTECTS DRM systems that are already in place. It makes it so that hackers/pirates can't simply strip out the DRM from a game.
The DRM that Denuvo protects can be configured to do whatever the publisher wants. A Denuvo game could be always-online, if the publisher wanted, and Denuvo would stop pirates from making an offline version, but Denuvo is not the cause of the online requirement.
Is this a distinction without a difference? I can see why someone might say that, but I think it's important to blame the source of a problem instead of shooting the messenger. Blame Rockstar for making their game require an online check after every patch (Although, be aware that this is hardly uncommon). Don't get upset with Denuvoor start refusing to buy Denuvo-protected games, or somethingbecause of something stupid Rockstar did. By all accounts, Denuvo appears to be a very good technology that does what it's supposed to with pretty much no side effects for consumers. There's a discussion to be had regarding game preservation, but I suspect we'll eventually find ways around that.