how does denuvo work

Denuvo works as a sophisticated Digital Rights Management (DRM) software primarily designed to prevent unauthorized copying and piracy of video games. It achieves this by creating a unique digital fingerprint of the user's hardware and software environment, which is then used to generate a unique authentication token or "Denuvo Token" that is required to run the game. This token is linked specifically to the user's system fingerprint, and the game regularly verifies that the hardware features still match this token to ensure the game is running legitimately. The process involves the game sending this fingerprint and a Steam Ticket (which proves game ownership) to Denuvo's servers. If the verification is successful, a token is generated that enables the game to decrypt certain values at runtime, allowing gameplay. If the fingerprint changes or the token does not match, the game will not run, effectively preventing piracy. This continuous verification makes cracking the DRM challenging because any alteration or tampering can be detected at runtime. Denuvo aims to protect games especially during the critical launch period to delay piracy, helping developers secure sales at the peak time. However, it is not immune to being cracked eventually, although the time it takes varies. The system is known for causing some performance overhead during gameplay, which has led to mixed feelings among gamers. In summary, Denuvo uses hardware and software fingerprinting combined with encrypted tokens and online verification to secure games against unauthorized use, making it difficult to run a pirated version without matching the original system environment.