Bethesda found itself in a bit of a controversy over the last few days with Doom Eternal. As part of the game’s recent major update, developer id Software added Denuvo Anti-Cheat to the PC version. Denuvo Anti-Cheat is separate from its anti-piracy tech, and the new service was specifically implemented to thwart cheating in Eternal’s multiplayer mode Battlemode, and lay the groundwork for the launch of invasions in campaign. Unfortunately, Denuvo Anti-Cheat is one of those programs that demands Kernel mode root access, giving it free reign to monitor and modify anything on your PC, and potentially block certain apps. Predictably, and similar to how things went with Valorant’s anti-cheat tech, fans went mad, review-bombing the game on Steam and voicing their concerns with Denuvo Anti-Cheat - and all other programs that demand that level of access - on social media. In response, game executive producer Marty Stratton confirmed in a Reddit post that Denuvo Anti-Cheat is being removed from the game with its next update - version 1.1 - which is coming to PC “within a week.” “Despite our best intentions, feedback from players has made it clear that we must re-evaluate our approach to anti-cheat integration,” Stratton wrote.
Stratton revealed that the developer is considering allowing campaign-only players to play without having to install anti-cheat. Id, however, is concerned about the integrity of online modes, particularly the upcoming invasions in campaign, when run outside the protection of anti-cheat. “I have seen speculation online that Bethesda (our parent company and publisher) is forcing these or other decisions on us, and it’s simply untrue,” he went on. “It’s also worth noting that our decision to remove the anti-cheat software is not based on the quality of the Denuvo Anti-Cheat solution. Many have unfortunately related the performance and stability issues introduced in update 1 to the introduction of anti-cheat. They are not related.” With that in mind, the performance problems introduced with the update will also be fixed in 1.1. Some of them are, in fact, are related to a change in made “around VRAM allocation” and are likewise being fixed. All the while, id Software continues to work on Doom Eternal’s first story DLC, which the developer briefly showed off in new screens. The add-on has yet to be fully detailed or dated.
