Fans Cancel Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Pre-Orders Because of Denuvo

In every industry you can think of – whether it's movies, literature, theater, or anything else – there are certain things creators need to steer clear of if they want their works to succeed commercially and reputation-wise. The video game industry is not an exception, having its own fair share of topics, people, organizations, and even software that developers really wouldn't want to associate with to have a shot at success.

The most notorious piece of software in the context of game development is, of course, Denuvo, the infamous digital rights management (DRM) system from Irdeto that some game studios adopt to make it harder to pirate their titles. While its effectiveness is rarely questioned, what enrages gamers is that the DRM often causes performance issues and lowers framerates in the games that use it – something Irdeto vehemently denies.

For many, the negative side effects of Denuvo are so hard to overlook that they're willing to turn their backs on their favorite developers and refuse to buy or play their new games, even highly anticipated ones, as long as the DRM is present. This is exactly what happened recently to developer Warhorse Studios and publisher Deep Silver, who found themselves under fire following the report that the long-awaited medieval RPG Kingdom Come: Deliverance II would feature Denuvo on launch.

Ever since the sequel to the beloved 2018 action RPG was announced and it was revealed that Deep Silver would be the publisher, many fans familiar with the company's history have been worrying that the new Kingdom Come title would be tainted by Denuvo.

For those unaware, many of the games published by Deep Silver have suffered at launch because of the DRM, including titles like Metro: Exodus, Agents of Mayhem, and Dead Island 2, the latter of which still features Denuvo to this day. With Kingdom Come: Deliverance II's publisher being a company that makes it a policy to use Denuvo, coupled with the DRM's largely negative reputation and the fact that the original KCD had optimization issues even without the anti-piracy software, these concerns become quite easy to understand.

Regarding that "policy" part, I'm not even exaggerating, here's what Deep Silver wrote on Steam forums back in 2019:

Taking the community's concerns and the anti-piracy system's reputation into consideration, Warhorse Studios and Deep Silver chose not to explicitly mention Denuvo anywhere on the game's Steam page, presumably so that the average fan who doesn't spend four hours a day reading gaming news wouldn't notice their use of the DRM.

However, despite the hush-hush nature of the matter, the fact that Denuvo is featured in KCD II was confirmed by one Vernon V. from Plaion, the parent company of both Deep Silver and Warhorse. In what appears to be an accidental reveal, Vernon disclosed the presence of the controversial DRM, along with the fact that KCD II wouldn't be available on GOG on day one, while discussing the rules of online activation and whether the game could be played without an internet connection:

After the screenshot was posted on KCD's Reddit page, serving for many as incontrovertible proof of Denuvo's inclusion, enraged fans quickly made it clear they weren't happy, hitting the devs where it hurts the most – in the wallet – by canceling their pre-orders, removing the sequel from their wishlists, and encouraging others to do the same. To this day, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II's Discussions page on Steam is filled with displeased comments, all echoing the same concise sentiment: "Denuvo = No Buy."

As it stands, the revelations from Vernon V. appear to be the only concrete piece of evidence of Denuvo being used in the game. While the screenshot could be an elaborate hoax designed to troll the community, considering Deep Silver's history, its Denuvo policy, and the fact that Plaion hasn't released any official statement denying the allegation, it seems to me that the screenshot is indeed real, and the company prefers to sweep it under the rug by refusing to give it credibility through confirmation or denial. One way or another, it's evident that for many, even a not-100%-confirmed report was enough to, in their eyes, tarnish the reputation of what could have been a perfect sequel.

So, what's your take on the situation? Is the screenshot real? Who is Vernon V.? Will Plaion come forward to clear the air? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!

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