Irdeto Acquires Denuvo; Wants to Protect Games on All Platforms and VR

Denuvo is a well-known anti-tamper technology developer in the video game industry. They typically work with PC games, but this may soon change as today it was announced that they have been acquired by Irdeto, a Dutch company with 50 years experience in security.

While Denuvo is used for a number of PC games, they’ve had a history of weak protection at best and completely disruptive to paying customers at worst. The acquisition aims to protect games from piracy and cheating on more than just PC. Irdeto plans to also include protection for consoles, mobile, and VR devices. Their Cloakware technology will supposedly bolster Denuvo’s existing software.

Doug Lowther, CEA at Irdeto, had this to say:

“The success of any game title is dependent upon the ability of the title to operate as the publisher intended. As a result, protection of both the game itself and the gaming experience for end users is critical. Our partnership brings together decades of security expertise under one roof to better address new and evolving security threats. We are looking forward to collaborating as a team on a number of initiatives to improve our core technology and services to better serve our customers.”

While his statement is true from a financial point of view, we can only hope that the acquisition means a change in approach to defending games and other DRM measures.

Reinhard Blaukovitsch, Managing Director of Denuvo also said:

“Hackers and cybercriminals in the gaming space are savvy, and always have been. It is critical to implement robust security strategies to combat the latest gaming threats and protect the investment in games. Much like the movie industry, it’s the only way to ensure that great games continue to get made. In joining with Irdeto, we are bringing together a unique combination of security expertise, technology and enhanced piracy services to aggressively address security challenges that customers and gamers face from hackers.”

Denuvo’s staff will reportedly continue operations as usual, and all staff is expected to remain employed.