Anti-piracy software Denuvo will not affect the performance of Switch games, a spokesperson has clarified.
Earlier this week, it was announced during Gamescom 2022 that the company had found an “innovative solution” regarding Switch games being pirated on PC, and would be selling a product titled Nintendo Switch Emulator Protection.
This caused a bit of a stir of concern amongst fans. While it does prevent privacy, it has also been noted to affect game performance. One popular example is Resident Evil Village, which ran noticeably worse due to the software. Additionally, two of the recent Tomb Raider games had Denuvo removed by their developer due to performance complaints. This seems to be related to its high CPU (central processing unit) usage.
However, in an email to publication Kotaku, a spokesperson for Denuvo clarified that “The protection is designed not to affect the gamer’s experience, and it does not have any in-game performance impact.”
The Switch’s portability and potential inability to always be connected to an online server was also acknowledged in regards to the DRM (digital rights management) needing online connection: “We are aware that the Nintendo Switch is a mobile console and therefore has limited online capabilities, so we designed our solution to be fully offline, no online checks required.”
It was also noted that this came from developer and publisher demand, and that the company wasn’t partnering with Nintendo in this endeavour, although due to NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) Denuvo isn’t allowed “to disclose company names”.
The next major Nintendo Switch release is shooter Splatoon 3, which launches September 9. NME’s preview of the game was positive, noting that it feels “modernised and new”.
Additionally, Kirby’s Dream Buffet released earlier this month for the platform and netted a decent three out of five star score from NME, being described as being a “cute distraction” and “an enjoyable ride while it lasts”.
In other news, the Xbox Series X|S won’t be seeing a price hike following the PlayStation 5’s increase in certain regions by £30 / €50.