Anti-piracy software developer Denuvo, a company with a nasty reputation online among gamers, is suing a popular and skilled video game pirate known only as “voices38” who has spent nearly a year now sharing cracked versions of PC games on Reddit. Denuvo is looking to stop the pirate from continuing their work, but a recent message from them seems to indicate they aren’t too worried and more cracked games are coming.
On Monday, as reported by TorrentFreak, Denuvo filed a lawsuit against voices38 in the U.S. Northern District Court of California. The Austrian-based anti-piracy company is accusing voices38 of tampering with and bypassing its anti-piracy tech found in over two dozen games, including Doom: The Dark Ages, Resident Evil Requiem, and Hogwarts Legacy. Denuvo claims these actions are a violation of the DMCA’s anti-circumvention provision.
“Defendant is a computer hacker who is focused on reverse engineering, hacking, or ‘cracking’ video games employing Denuvo’s Anti-Tamper product,” argued Denuvo in court docs obtained by TorrentFreak. “Defendant has bypassed DRM restrictions in copyrighted works, removing protections that allow copyright owners to restrict who may access their works, and allowing for pirated versions of those copyrighted works.”
In response to Denuvo’s lawsuit, voices38 replied on Reddit: “All is fine. Everything will continue as normal.” The simple comment has seven thousand upvotes on Reddit.
Denuvo can’t sue for copyright infringement because it doesn’t own the rights to any of the games listed in the lawsuit. But the DMCA allows any person or company negatively impacted by anti-tampering and piracy to file these kinds of lawsuits. Denuvo’s entire business model is focused on selling DRM software to stop people from downloading games for free without buying them, so it argues it is indeed being harmed by voices38. It should be noted that none of the companies that own the games cracked by the Reddit pirate are part of the lawsuit.
Here’s the full list of games Denuvo claims voices38 has cracked:
1. Need for Speed Heat
2. EA Sports FIFA 20
3. Star Wars: Squadrons
4. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered
5. EA Sports FIFA 21
6. Hi-Fi Rush
7. F1 2021
8. Dead Space (Remake)
9. Doom: The Dark Ages
10. Mafia: Old Country
11. LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight
12. Hogwarts Legacy
13. Total War: Three Kingdoms
14. Starlink: Battle for Atlas
15. Shining Resonance Refrain
16. PES 2020
17. Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD
18. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
19. Anno 1800
20. Sonic Frontiers
21. Assassin’s Creed Mirage
22. Pragmata
23. Resident Evil Requiem
24. Black Myth Wukong
25. Stellar Blade
26. 007 First Light
TorrentFreak reports that this is the first time Denuvo has gone after a video game pirate/cracker in the United States via a lawsuit.
Denuvo doesn’t yet know who voices38 is, but it does seem to have a list of online IDs, including seven Steam profiles, that the company believes are directly connected to the prolific pirate. The goal now will be for Denuvo to file subpoenas to Valve, Reddit, and other online sites and services to learn more about voices38. Denuvo is seeking an injunction to block the pirate from ever circumventing or tampering with games using its tech.
Of course, not many online are rooting for Denuvo in this case. The company’s anti-piracy software has been accused by many of slowing down PC games, blocking legitimate owners from accessing them, and causing other annoying headaches.