Square Enix has removed the Denuvo anti-tamper technology from the PC release of Just Cause 3, the publisher confirmed on December 17, 2025. The sandbox action game originally launched in December 2015, so the protection remained in place for roughly ten years before this change.
The removal leaves the PC build without the Denuvo layer that many players have criticized for potential performance and compatibility impacts. The move follows a pattern from Square Enix this year, where the company has been stripping Denuvo from older titles as post-launch windows close and piracy concerns decline.
Players who still run heavily modded versions of the game may already be using community-maintained packages. One popular option in 2025 was the Just Cause 3 Unlimited Edition mod that bundles hundreds of tweaks and additions for modern systems. For context on Square Enix’s wider removals of Denuvo across its catalog, see the publisher’s recent removal from Visions of Mana and the earlier confirmation that Denuvo was planned for OCTOPATH TRAVELER 0 before launch in August 2025, as documented in the developer’s specs post.
Just Cause 4 continues to list Denuvo in its PC build, so players looking for a similar change will need to wait for any future announcements from Square Enix. For now, the removal in Just Cause 3 is a straightforward change aimed at cleaning up older releases after their sales and support cycles have progressed.
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Just Cause 3
Developed by Avalanche Studios
Just Cause 3 is a third-person, open-world action-adventure game set on the fictional Mediterranean island nation of Medici. Players explore a large open environment spanning several biomes, using a grappling hook, parachute, and wingsuit to move quickly across land, sea, and air. Gameplay centers on physics-driven destruction and player freedom, with a wide range of weapons, vehicles, and explosives used to dismantle enemy installations and liberate towns and bases. It is the third entry in the Just Cause series and was followed by Just Cause 4.
- Genre Adventure
- Platforms PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox One
- Perspective Third person
- Modes Single player
- Release November 30, 2015
- Publisher Square Enix
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Age Rating
