Assassin’s Creed Mirage has just been released for PC and consoles, and while it’s been largely well-received for returning to the series’ stealth roots, it’s also facing some backlash. Ubisoft, the game’s publisher, has added Denuvo DRM to the PC version via a day-one patch. This move has sparked controversy among players and critics alike, especially as it was announced after the first batch of reviews.
Denuvo Digital Rights Management (DRM) is a technology that prevents piracy and illegal game sharing. However, it has been a point of contention among gamers for years. Many claim Denuvo negatively affects game performance, including slower load times and frame rate issues. Despite this, it remains a popular choice among game publishers seeking to protect their intellectual property.
What’s causing even more talk is the timing of this addition. The Denuvo DRM wasn’t part of the review copies sent to critics, and the patch adding it was only pushed out after reviews of the game were already published. This has led some to question whether the late addition was deliberately timed to avoid affecting early studies, which could have possibly lowered the game’s initial rating.
The Denuvo addition was first noted by Twitter user @TDeckverse, who pointed out that a day-one patch for the game included the DRM technology. This tweet quickly gained traction as fans and critics discussed what this could mean for the PC version of Assassin’s Creed Mirage. The game has already faced some negative feedback concerning its performance on PC, so the addition of Denuvo is another blow.
Ubisoft just added Denuvo to #AssassinsCreedMirage via a day-1 patch a few minutes ago. AFTER all the major reviews went online. Sincerely: Fuck off. pic.twitter.com/Bv1wn5oBr6
— Timo Schmidt (@TDeckverse) October 4, 2023