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[Lanrutcon]

It's already been a year since the first game using Denuvo (DA:I) was released. When a major group admits defeat then that will only show its effectiveness to publishers, no? As already proven with Ubisoft tacking it on.

And the more publishers adopt it, the more groups will target it. If it becomes the norm it'll happen even faster. This cycle has been going on since commercial software took off over 2 decades ago. It's an arms race, and Denuvo is just the flavor of the month.

 

[CecilRousso]

this eurogamer interview was a good read, i think the most salient point in there is that they themselves dont consider it to be undefeatable, just immenseley more difficult for pirates than usual.

I've read that, and I don't think it's clear enough about how it actually works. They say that it only works in tandem with other DRM systems, but it doesn't specify it the server depency for Steam/uPlay/Origin is the only one involved.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

No what I'm looking for is a source that clearly specifies what it doesn't phone home. I would love to be proven wrong, because it would mean that I wouldn't have the issue with Denuvo games that I have now.

It's almost impossible to prove a negative. Why is this software guilty until proven innocent?


Edit:

I've read that, and I don't think it's clear enough about how it actually works. They say that it only works in tandem with other DRM systems, but it doesn't specify it the server depency for Steam/uPlay/Origin is the only one involved.

Of course they aren't going to say exactly how it works. This would (1) cause them to lose a competitive advantage, and (2) would probably make it easier for cracking teams to break.

 

[SenjutsuSage]

Ugh...isn't Denuvo REALLY wonky in terms of affecting game performance?

I'm sure that will be a popular argument against it, but so far I believe the claim doesn't hold very much water at all. I think it's good that companies are protecting their games from pirating. They deserve every dime for the work put into making them a reality.

 

[prudislav]

That it's invisible to most customers isn't neccesarly a good thing.

Those of you that feel confident about what it does and what it doesn't, what sources are the best ones to use if you want to read up about it? I know what it wants to achieve, but I'm still not completely clear about all the steps it takes to achieve that.

imo the lack of info and the overall lack of transparency and misdirection is intentional ;-) ,

Also the fact that ubisoft themselves need to disconnect from any potential problems it might cause in eula ... to me says that there definitely must be something problematic hidden in there... its just not yet know what that is

It doesn't. Feel free to prove me wrong with a source, but there's LOT of BS out there regarding Denuvo.

yeah i wouldn't be even surprised if denuvo marketing team is part of the misdirection ;-)

I got message similar to this one http://i.imgur.com/41QdMK0.png but asking to reactivate, but on Mad Max while playing for more than a week(trip to russia with no net) in offline mode (other steam games worked well) , friend of mine got almost same message on DA:I, but sadly dont have any screencaps :-/ Might test on my old computer , but it will take a while

 

[Tacitus_]

Sure, it's an eventuality. But Just Cause 3 still has not been cracked yet, the stresses of doing so will lead to those groups not even attempting with Denuovo games - I'm not even sure what they gain from cracking in the first place except the ego boost.

JC3 is not the first game using Denuvo and it's been cracked numerous times before. That one chinese group just had a post where they said it was a pain in the ass to crack, not that it is impossible.

I think Chaos Theory still holds the record for longest time without a crack at 1.5 years. I don't think any Denuvo release has taken anywhere close to that.

 

[MUnited83]

JC3 is not the first game using Denuvo and it's been cracked numerous times before. That one chinese group just had a post where they said it was a pain in the ass to crack, not that it is impossible.

I think Chaos Theory still holds the record for longest time without a crack at 1.5 years. I don't think any Denuvo release has taken anywhere close to that.

There's yet to be a actual crack for any of the Denuvo releases, actually, which is why 3DM is the only group that even tackles it.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

I got message similar to this one http://i.imgur.com/41QdMK0.png but asking to reactivate, but on Mad Max while playing for more than a week(trip to russia with no net) in offline mode (other steam games worked well) , friend of mine got almost same message on DA:I, but sadly dont have any screencaps :-/ Might test on my old computer , but it will take a while

Now this is really interesting. It doesn't look like just a generic Steam error, but I've certainly seen generic errors that were very similar.

I'm guessing this will never happen, but If you ever get this message again, and have the technical knowledge/inclination, I would love to see logs of your internet connection via something like Charles Proxy. The big question is, is the game just checking in with Steam, or is it actually phoning home to a Denuvo-owned address?

Edit: AND if you Google search the first sentence of the error message in quotes, the results that come up all relate to games that use Denuvo: Mad Max, Just Cause 3, MGSV, and Arkham Knight.

This is bad, because it really does point to Denuvo lying to the public, in a pretty direct way. I'm all for stopping pirates, and I'm not against tech companies keeping secrets when necessary, but outright lying about what your software does makes me wonder what else they're lying about.

 

[PodcastFips]

I think the more games use Denuvo, the faster it will get cracked for good (or bad).

 

[Wowfunhappy]

There's yet to be a actual crack for any of the Denuvo releases, actually, which is why 3DM is the only group that even tackles it.

Just to add on to that: it's worth mentioning that there's a difference between a hackish patch that tricks the game's security systems into launching, and a proper crack that actually removes the DRM systems altogether. The latter has never been done for a Denuvo game so far.

(To paraphrase the explanation given to me by another gaffer a couple months ago)

 

[Tacitus_]

There's yet to be a actual crack for any of the Denuvo releases, actually, which is why 3DM is the only group that even tackles it.

Oh? I thought at least DA:I was cracked.

 

[jelly]

Every single piece of software leaves files after the uninstall process.

agree on the misconception part, it is basically invisible to the end consumer but has been propped up as this entity that spins hard drives like a dj while racking up a monster call bill phoning home.

however one downside is the preservation angle, publishers don't seem to care for that so its unlikely they will remove the tech from a game once it has accrued the majority of it's sales. but having said that, i'd be surprised if in 5-10 years these current games are still not able to be cracked by pirates and as a result be preserved.



programs leave traces behind all the time with leftover files and entries in the registry, this doesnt sound like anything more than that

“CERTAIN FILES OF THE ANTI-TAMPER TECHNOLOGY MAY REMAIN EVEN AFTER THE PRODUCT IS UNINSTALLED FROM YOUR COMPUTER. “.

We will have to wait and see. Some programs may leave the odd thing or empty folder or nothing, A good uninstaller should do it's job and some do it right. I'll be interested to see if you can delete the left over stuff.

 

[CecilRousso]

Of course they aren't going to say exactly how it works. This would (1) cause them to lose a competitive advantage, and (2) would probably make it easier for cracking teams to break.

Things like server depencies are things they really ought to tell people if they want people to be confident in their product, and it's one these things it would take those trying to crack the game 2 minutes to check by sniffing the outgoing traffic. If I had a Denuvo game, I would be able to do that myself right now.

 

[Poetic.Injustice]

Oh? I thought at least DA:I was cracked.

Denuvo has not been cracked. What exists are emulators which bypass it entirely.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

Things like server depencies are things they really ought to tell people if they want people to be confident in their product

I agree 100%!

and it's one these things it would take those trying to crack the game 2 minutes to check by sniffing the outgoing traffic. If I had a Denuvo game, I would be able to do that myself right now.

Which is exactly why—up until about five minutes ago—I was convinced that Denuvo did not have a server dependency (or at least, that it did not have any dependencies above and beyond what Steam does). If the game had a server dependency, it would be incredibly easy to detect. No one seems to have detected any such dependency. Ergo, I was convinced that Denuvo was telling the truth.

I'm now much less sure, because if Denuvo was telling the truth, why are Denuvo games spitting out error messages that non-Denuvo games are not? I'd still love to see some traffic logs, but...

 

[Social]

well, the game will be safe from pirates for a week/month

 

[texhnolyze]

Denuvo has not been cracked. What exists are emulators which bypass it entirely.

..which provide additional bugs and things that aren't supposed to be there on the legit versions. For example, non-legit MGS V can't even watch the prologue & epilogue cutscenes without crashing, and opening doors quietly is just impossible. Another one, Shotgun seems bugged in non-legit Mad Max, etc.

Moreover, bypassing Denuvo is such a huge hassle for the scenes. For each game updates, they have to start over from scratch. That's why they generally give up after one 'successful' attempt, which are on the first two patches. We won't be able to find the updated version of the 'cracks'. They don't bother to do that anymore. Denuvo such a huge obstacle for pirates.

 

[luchifer]

well, the game will be safe from pirates for a week/month

Like Just Cause 3?

 

[scitek]

Preservation is such a limp excuse. It's okay to be honest, you don't have to couch cheapness with some fake moral high ground.

Holy shit, what's the view like in your ivory tower?

 

[NDP_Mulcair]

Denuvo dosn't work as a "6 month delay for pirates", that's not the intention and neither is the reality, It would be nice if publishers actually disabled Denuvo after 6 months, but is not happening either. For now most big profiles games has been cracked under Denuvo, but I think there are some there that wasn't, that's bad not for pirates mind you, but for preservation of software, there are a good number of games lost on the IP limbo that will be lost forever.

There are inmoral bastards that have the money to buy games but they pirate otherwise, but that works under the assumption that they would buy the game if it wasn't pirated, I mean maybe a small porcentage, but if people don't buy games is because they don't see the value of spending 50-60 dollars/euros on a game, and they won't not because they don't have the money, because simply they don't see that product as valuable as you or me.

Denuvo brings more potential harm than actual benefits, modding and preservation are 2 of the pillars that PC gaming is built from and that piece of software goes directly against them. And I don't think any moral benefits or anecdotal evidence on more sales is sufficient to justify is existence, seeing the negative it brings.

Fundamentally I believe there should always be a period where people are unable to take whatever they want for free without consequences.

It's a weird dichotomy how we tend to abhor the thought of stealing physical goods such as tables or televisions (where the manufacturer / reseller is deprived of revenue), and yet acquiring an illicit copy of a digital good without EVER paying for it (where the manufacturer / reseller is also deprived of revenue) seems to be a semi-accepted practice.

Having this anti-tamper technology turns these games into a pseudo-physical good, where you can no longer take whatever you want whenever you want without any inhibitions or consequences. I think for a well-functioning society it's fundamentally good for that disconnect to exist, and it's important to respect the rights of content creators and developers whose livelihood depends on those sales.

Denuvo has always been broken in the past and it will continue to break with sufficient time. Nothing can ever be done to stop the piracy machine, but if they can at least drive a wedge to stave off piracy for a little while so people can start to think about the consequences behind their actions and consider supporting the developers for once.....that's enough.


Also, remember that Denuvo is a very expensive technology, and as such only large companies with high-profile games can afford it. Those high-profile games are always targeted by pirates.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

Fundamentally I believe there should always be a period where people are unable to take whatever they want for free without consequences.

It's a weird dichotomy how we tend to abhor the thought of stealing physical goods such as tables or televisions (where the manufacturer / reseller is deprived of revenue), and yet acquiring an illicit copy of a digital good without EVER paying for it (where the manufacturer / reseller is also deprived of revenue) seems to be a semi-accepted practice.

Having this anti-tamper technology turns these games into a pseudo-physical good, where you can no longer take whatever you want whenever you want without any inhibitions or consequences. I think for a well-functioning society it's fundamentally good for that disconnect to exist, and it's important to respect the rights of content creators and developers whose livelihood depends on those sales.

Denuvo has always been broken in the past and it will continue to break with sufficient time. Nothing can ever be done to stop the piracy machine, but if they can at least drive a wedge to stave off piracy for a little while so people can start to think about the consequences behind their actions and consider supporting the developers for once.....that's enough.

I fully agree with your post—and I think that part of the problem with the bolded in particular is that we still have this weird concept that piracy ≠ lost sales. Yeah, not every pirated download is a lost sale, but I'm sure that some downloads are.

And some people—people I personally know, unfortunately—take this to a to an extreme: "I wouldn't have bought that game anyway, so I pirated it. They're not losing any money, so it's okay."

And I guess that if said person really wouldn't have bought the game anyway, he's right. But I question whether he can really know that. I certainly don't think that I can ever know that. There are TONS of things that I wanted but thought were too expensive, and I eventually caved and made the purchase anyway. If I let myself just pirate stuff, that would never happen. Furthermore, I wouldn't be an unbiased decision maker—I'd have an incentive to tell myself that I wouldn't have bought the game anyway.

There's just no way to know for sure, and I worry people aren't altruistic enough to support a digital economy in the long term. Yeah, Netflix is doing well, but I wonder if it'll be enough to sustain the large movie budgets we're used to as physical media sales continue to dry up.

And this is coming from someone who, on a personal level, hates DRM'd media: I buy all of my movies from iTunes because it's easy to strip out the DRM with requiem, and I buy all of my games DRM-free whenever it's humanely possible to do so.

(Wow, this post got a broader than I'd originally intended...)

 

[NDP_Mulcair]

I fully agree with your post—and I think that part of the problem with the bolded in particular is that we still have this weird concept that piracy ≠ lost sales. Yeah, not every pirated download is a lost sale, but I'm sure that some downloads are.

And some people—people I personally know, unfortunately—take this to a to an extreme: "I wouldn't have bought that game anyway, so I pirated it. They're not losing any money, so it's okay."

And I guess that if said person really wouldn't have bought the game anyway, he's right. But I question whether he can really know that. I certainly don't think that I can ever know that. There are TONS of things that I wanted but thought were too expensive, and I eventually caved and made the purchase anyway. If I let myself just pirate stuff, that would never happen. Furthermore, I wouldn't be an unbiased decision maker—I'd have an incentive to tell myself that I wouldn't have bought the game anyway.

There's just no way to know for sure, and I worry people aren't altruistic enough to support a digital economy in the long term. Yeah, Netflix is doing well, but I wonder if it'll be enough to sustain the large movie budgets we're used to as physical media sales continue to dry up.

And this is coming from someone who, on a personal level, hates DRM'd media: I buy all of my movies from iTunes because it's easy to strip out the DRM with requiem, and I buy all of my games DRM-free whenever it's humanely possible to do so.

(Wow, this post got a broader than I'd originally intended...)

You're exactly right. Having to wait when you could spend money and get it RIGHT NOW is a fantastic incentive in and of itself.

Imagine you see your favorite Let's Player go through some fantastic open-world game on YouTube that just released. You make a good salary and money isn't a big issue. After watching the Let's Play, you feel compelled to play the game in some way, shape or form. You could spend $60 buying the new release on Steam...but there's this nifty piracy release that's completely free and conveniently released the same day. "Oh, I wouldn't have bought it anyway so it's not a lost sale," these people say. But if you're really THAT compelled to play it before, would you have really avoided it if it weren't available through piracy? Probably not. You would have bought it as an impulse. I feel like that situation is more common than people want to admit.

Video games are an impulse medium. Countless times I've bought something on sale, or a game that others recommend, or a fun game I see on YouTube. I take a chance on it and I splurge simply because of that impulse. That impulse tends to get eroded when there is a completely free alternative instantaneously available. If I had to wait to save up $3000 for a new TV...or there were a brand new, identical TV right next to me I could take for free with no potential consequences...then it's hard to save up $3000 and not just take the TV if morals aren't an issue. And I'm sure we're all aware that there are lots of us who just don't care under the veneer of excuses.

"It's only one copy, the publishers are filthy rich anyway"
"I wouldn't have bought it anyway, so it's not a lost sale"
"They did something they don't like, so they don't deserve my money"
"I live in a third-world random country, so they don't care about my money"
Etc.

I've been on lots of piracy sites and I notice the commentary of the pirates towards Denuvo regarding the uncrackable Just Cause 3. It's mainly one of frustration. People are really frustrated that they have to wait to pirate it. Some people even proclaimed that they just took the leap and bought it on Steam because they were sick of "the lazy hackers taking too long."

This really should be the ideal with high-profile titles. That frustration has spurred impulse purchases to some extent. I've seen it anecdotally, you're talking about it, and I've seen it online. It's not a complete non-issue like people make it out to be. People make excuses for themselves to justify their behavior when things are free and instantly available. That's why, for a while, there should be consequences like with physical goods so we can keep that impulse momentum intact for the sake of the content creators.

However, as I said before, I recognize the value of long-term video game preservation and in the long-run I appreciate the pirates eventually figuring out how to crack it. Twenty years from now, the actions of these piracy groups will keep the games alive for future generations long after the companies have gone defunct and exited the business.

But right now, it has a purpose.

 

[Rising_Hei]

I'm fine with this, more games should use it if the legit user has no problems with it

The current eco system of consoles is benefitting a lot because you can't play "backups", hell, even a console like vita is still getting a nice quantity of games for this reason... looking back in time, PSP sold much more than the Vita but the "backups" really hurted software sales. The worst example of this is still Dreamcast tho :/

They shouldn't prosecute anyone for using "backups", but if these players can't "backup" a game, they should just deal with it; it will be a great time for us gamers because we'll get more games.

 

[Hoho for breakfast]

So this Denuvo protection is stopping piracy for now, but it's installing who knows what and leaving it there after a game is uninstalled? So piracy is bad, but that's supposed to be acceptable?

 

[Cobaiye]

Welp, none of these games for me then.

 

[luchifer]

I recognize the value of long-term video game preservation and in the long-run I appreciate the pirates eventually figuring out how to crack it. Twenty years from now, the actions of these piracy groups will keep the games alive for future generations long after the companies have gone defunct and exited the business.

But right now, it has a purpose.

I also recognize that value, and if piracy groups decided to crack twenty years old games you would have a point, but releasing a cracked game the same day it goes gold isnt preserving, is just plain stealing.

You guys need to ask yourself this: if piracy does not affect sales, as I have been reading, then how do you explain why so many people in several countries have a profitable bussiness of selling pirated copies of games, softwares, and books? Do you really think they dont make a profit out of it and their bussines is to preserve illegal copies of the Harry Potter books for the next generation?

 

[Wowfunhappy]

I also recognize that value, and if piracy groups decided to crack twenty years old games you would have a point, but releasing a cracked game the same day it goes gold isnt preserving, is just plain stealing.

Thing is, there's very little chance that enough people will be paying attention to a game a decade after it gets released. At least, not enough for a crack to actually get made.

If there's no crack in three years, there probably won't be a crack at all. And three years is being very generous.

 

[Guymelef]

Well, the most games with this protection, bigger efforts will come from cracking teams.

 

[MUnited83]

Well, the most games with this protection, bigger efforts will come from cracking teams.

So far that hasn't actually hold true.

 

[Walker_Boh]

Does this have any effect on Cheat Engine?

 

[Guymelef]

So far that hasn't actually hold true.

So far, in a world with 100% of the new releases with the same kind of protection, all the efforts will go to try avoid it.

 

[Senhua]

So far that hasn't actually hold true.

We will see that.
But for now, only one-two group dedicated enough to crack it.
Are you sure when all big pub adopt that no more will came?

With Denuvo, .EXE cannot be modified at all. No any direct (hex editing) or indirect (memory injection) alteration.
So we never have a big mods at least without notifying to + helped from original developer.

 

[texhnolyze]

With Denuvo, .EXE cannot be modified at all. No any direct (hex editing) or indirect (memory injection) alteration.
So we never have a big mods at least without notifying to + helped from original developer.

Not really, MGS V 21:9 resolution fix is actually achieved by modifying the game .exe. DA Inquisition mods are also available on the nexus. Moreover, the games are still easily hackable with simple cheatengine method.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

Moreover, the games are still easily hackable with simple cheatengine method.

Cheatengine is a bit different because it's just modifying values in RAM, which Denuvo doesn't encrypt at all.

(No idea how those other mods get around it, though)

 

[Senhua]

Not really, MGS V 21:9 resolution fix is actually achieved by modifying the game .exe. DA Inquisition mods are also available on the nexus. Moreover, the games are still easily hackable with simple cheatengine method.

I think maybe that mods only alter other files and folder not .EXE one.
Cheat engine only inject to memory but not alter the .EXE.

 

[THRILLH0]

People are reaching real hard for a reason to be mad about this.

"Well until I see traffic logs, the original OSD, P&L statement, uncompiled source code, marketing roadmap and a sworn affidavit, why should I trust them?"

 

[texhnolyze]

I think maybe that mods only alter other files and folder not .EXE one.
Cheat engine only inject to memory but not alter the .EXE.

Lou Tenant method:
"Replace the exe in your MGS_TPP folder."

"jackfuste method:
"Replace Steam\steamapps\common\MGS_TPP\mgsvtpp.exe file on this:"

 

[Maximo]

Helps to prevent the preservation of games so I dislike Denuvo.

 

[Senhua]

Lou Tenant method:
"Replace the exe in your MGS_TPP folder."

"jackfuste method:
"Replace Steam\steamapps\common\MGS_TPP\mgsvtpp.exe file on this:"

https://community.nanos.io/index.php?/forum/42-development-news/

I cannot comment at MGS V as I still don't have the game so I cannot do research properly enough about mods.

Edit: https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-difficulties-of-cracking-a-Denuvo-protected-game

 

[KaoteK]

I also recognize that value, and if piracy groups decided to crack twenty years old games you would have a point, but releasing a cracked game the same day it goes gold isnt preserving, is just plain stealing.

You guys need to ask yourself this: if piracy does not affect sales, as I have been reading, then how do you explain why so many people in several countries have a profitable bussiness of selling pirated copies of games, softwares, and books? Do you really think they dont make a profit out of it and their bussines is to preserve illegal copies of the Harry Potter books for the next generation?

It's not stealing, it's copyright infringement, which is completely different according to the law in most countries where they care about it.

I live in a country where they give zero shits about copyright infringement, to the point where I can go to my local mall and buy 360 games, movies and books for a dollar. I can tell you exactly why people have those businesses (and why they thrive.)

In a country where the average salary is 160 dollars a month, very few can afford to buy originals. I pay 65 bucks for my ps4 games here for example, which would be a massive chunk of a local's salary even if they earn double the average.

They aren't lost sales because no one is going to spend that kind of money on entertainment when they genuinely can't afford it.

 

[luchifer]

It's not stealing, it's copyright infringement, which is completely different according to the law in most countries where they care about it.

I live in a country where they give zero shits about copyright infringement, to the point where I can go to my local mall and buy 360 games, movies and books for a dollar. I can tell you exactly why people have those businesses (and why they thrive.)

In a country where the average salary is 160 dollars a month, very few can afford to buy originals. I pay 65 bucks for my ps4 games here for example, which would be a massive chunk of a local's salary even if they earn double the average.

They aren't lost sales because no one is going to spend that kind of money on entertainment when they genuinely can't afford it.

Well, no, thats just an excuse. Im also from a third world country where the minimum salary is 160 dollars a month, yet people do have 600 dollars (im adding taxes) PS4s, XBONEs or PCs with GTX video cards.

If we truly cant afford it, we shouldnt be buying the consoles in the first place. Anyone, rich or poor can wait for a steam sale, where games are five dollars each.

Not sure why you cant see copyright infringment as stealing.

 

[CecilRousso]

People are reaching real hard for a reason to be mad about this.

"Well until I see traffic logs, the original OSD, P&L statement, uncompiled source code, marketing roadmap and a sworn affidavit, why should I trust them?"

We're reaching hard because we want some real answers about the consequences this will have? Because we're sceptical that after Tages, Securom, Starforce, GFWL, etc, we're supposed to believe that this "anti tamper system" that have no benefit for us is supposed to have no downside to it whatsoever?

 

[prudislav]

wonder whatss behind this error

 

[CecilRousso]

wonder which protection scheme is behind this error

Where did you find that picture?

 

[prudislav]

friend of mine sent me .. supposedly happened when he moved from laptop he was 5 days in offline mode to desktop, and finally got it to work on the forth day (not after 24h),... but no idea if he lies or not
Personally i dont want this thing nowhere near my main PC (especially after the stuff in Primal's eula), but if its in RotTR i might try t do some experiments on my old laptop.

 

[CecilRousso]

Personally i dont want this thing nowhere near my main PC (especially after the stuff in Primal's eula), but if its in RotTR i might try t do some experiments on my old laptop.

Yeah, it would be interesting to see what you find. Things like that, if true, definitely effects how much I'm prepared to pay for a product containing that. Just Cause 3 is one Denuvo game I have been interested in, and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is an upcoming one.

Not really surprising that they're both from a publisher that has had all kind of weird issues when it comes to releases.

 

[prudislav]

ok seems like i found the place where he got the error
https://support.codefusion.technology/justcause3/?e=88500006
and thx to whois - its owned by denuvo's CEO
, but still not really sure by the way he got to the error , he might have lied how he got it
in the end weird error for a game in which they say it can be playable for eternity in offline steam

 

[thebloo]

Ugh...isn't Denuvo REALLY wonky in terms of affecting game performance?

MGS 5 was considered one of the best ports of last year and it uses Denuvo.

 

[CecilRousso]

weird error for a game in which they say it can be playable for eternity in offline steam

Well, Denuvo is hardly always online either, so it must be from an installation.

And it could very well be that this is from activation against SquareEnix/Avalanche servers. JC3 seems to be a very weird game.

 

[prudislav]

And it could very well be that this is from activation against SquareEnix/Avalanche servers. JC3 seems to be a very weird game.

who knows but this is definitely part of the denuvo's solution
same page in case of BAK https://support.codefusion.technology/bak/?e=88500006&l=english

similar issue on LotF: https://steamcommunity.com/app/265300/discussions/0/523890046870873896/

from what i found out it appears with shared accounts(on PCs , iirc there is limit of 5 for 24h according to Primal's eula), but from the steam forums it looks like it can malfunction or something (in one of the topic there seems to be a guy locked out of a game for 2 months)
... interesting stuff...