Earlier this week at Gamescom, Denuvo by Iredeto launched a “Nintendo Switch Emulator Protection Solution” to protect games launched on the hybrid system.
Essentially, it’s inserted into Switch games in an attempt to prevent them from being played on emulators. Denuvo, as you may already know, doesn’t have the best reputation on PC – with the technology often accused of degrading performance in games.
Since this announcement, some concerns have been raised about Nintendo’s possible involvement. According to Kotaku, a spokesperson for Denuvo has clarified that Nintendo is not involved in this new Switch DRM initiative. This solution apparently answers the question of Denuvo’s existing publishing partners, and it also mentions how performance will not be affected:
“Due to NDAs, we are not allowed to release company names, but we can say that this solution is driven by strong demand from publishing partners. Software publishers and Denuvo are committed to delivering the best gaming experience… The protection is designed not to affect the gamer experience or affect in-game performance. The same goes for this new solution when protection is only active in non-performance-critical code parts.”
Denuvo also mentioned that the technology for Switch requires no online checks and is a solution designed to be completely offline.
In recent days, there has been much speculation from the Switch hacking and modding community about Nintendo’s possible involvement in this new initiative, with all sorts of takes:
@OatmealDome – I have to question their question [Irdeto] claiming Nintendo isn’t involved, because they should be (at least a little bit). To develop software for the Switch, they need access to the SDK and devkits, and for that Nintendo needs to give your company a developer account.
And here’s another one from Nintendo Life user and programmer LuigiBlood (via Twitter):
“It may not be obvious, but this anti-emulation system has to be approved and within Nintendo’s requirements or else it won’t pass the lottery. It can’t be a DRM measure either: Nintendo is the only one with DRM -checking their systems. It’s only Denuvo by name.”
“…Nintendo is clearly not involved in this. And if Nintendo were to develop anti-piracy/anti-emulator measures… you might as well put these things in a module on their software development kit, not a separate third party thing. “
Switch emulation platforms have also pledged to continue developing emulation for Nintendo’s hybrid system in response to this announcement:
You can learn more about Denuvo for Switch in our original Nintendo Life story. What do you think of the arrival of Denuvo ‘Switch Emulator Protection’ to Switch? Tell us below.
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