Denuvo Server Issues Has Prevented WB Games Like Shadow of War From Being Playable

The Denuvo doomsayers have been handed some significant ammunition this week with reports that Warner Bros games were temporarily unable to contact Denuvo servers, rendering the likes of Middle-Earth: Shadow of War, Injustice 2, Batman: Arkham Knight and Mad Max unplayable.

Users on the games’ Steam community pages, as well as Reddit and ResetEra, all reported having trouble booting WB’s titles over the last few days. Some found success after attempting upwards of 30 times.

Denuvo doesn’t attempt to the contact the servers every time a user attempts to play a game, but it does require assurance that this is a legitimate copy every couple of weeks, as well as when PC components are changed. It’s also a necessity if games require updates, meaning Middle-Earth: Shadow of War players were prevented from downloading and installing the latest patch required to play the game through Steam.

This further fans the flames for gamers who are suspicious of Denuvo Anti-Tamper DRM. The Denuvo servers going down and losing access to these games forever is the worst possible scenario, but it’s also possible that access to the servers can be temporarily lost, such as in this instance.

This is surely a warning sign, not just in terms of Denuvo but all forms of DRM and/or digital purchases. They hinge on the servers remaining in existence in perpetuity, yet everything falters or shuts down at some point. Even the mighty Steam may feel invincible now, but few businesses are so successful forever.

This recent controversy certainly raises another cloudy spectre over Denuvo, and in particular that this frustrating turn of events only actually affects those with legitimately purchased copies of the game. If a player had a pirated version of Batman: Arkham Knight, there would be nothing to stop them playing it while those who had legal copies would be locked out.