Everybody seems to be looking forward to Mortal Kombat 11, NetherRealm Studios’ latest entry in the long-running fighting series. Well, everybody except PC players because the Steam version of the game will apparently include Denuvo.
Reddit user Etherealzx spotted earlier that Mortal Kombat 11’s Steam page was recently updated and now mentions that the game will incorporate the infamous anti-tamper software.
Denuvo doesn’t have the best reputation among PC gamers so it’s not surprising to see that more than a few users have already expressed their frustration in the Reddit thread. Despite being created to stop or at least slow piracy down, the DRM has also been known to cause serious performance issues on more than one occasion.
As far as its effectiveness as an anti-piracy tool is concerned, Denuvo has proven to be less and less reliable in recent times. Recent major releases like Far Cry: New Dawn, Metro: Exodus, and the Resident Evil 2 Remake ended up being cracked in less than a week. All three games incorporated Denuvo.
Meanwhile, last month Steam users discovered how to play Devil May Cry 5 without the DRM shortly after the game’s release. Results were pretty mixed but most players claimed the game was running smoother overall and there were fewer crashes. Interestingly enough, playing the DRM-free version of Devil May Cry 5 on day one was possible thanks to an unprotected .exe file released by Capcom earlier that day.
NetherRealm games tend to die out quickly on PC and the fact that Mortal Kombat 11 ships with Denuvo will probably not help with that trend. The anti-tampering software seems to be more of a nuisance for paying customers than pirates these days, so adding it to the game may end up doing more harm than good in the long run.
If you’re not too worried about Denuvo and still want to play Mortal Kombat 11 on PC, you’re in luck because there’s actually a lot to look forward to here. In addition to visual and mechanical improvements, the game also brings to the table a solid roster of playable characters.
On one hand, you have returning classics like Raiden, Johhny Cage, Liu Kang, Shang Tsung, and the ever-present Scorpion and Sub-Zero. Then, there are a few more recent additions to the series like D’Vorah, Kotal Kahn, and Erron Black alongside entirely new characters like Cetrion and the Kollector.