Bethesda adds Denuvo to Ghostwire: Tokyo one year after the game was cracked

Enlarge / Artist's conception of Bethesda slamming Denuvo protections on a game that has been widely pirated for over a year. (credit: Bethesda Softworks)

Denuvo no longer provides the kind of uncrackable, piracy-protecting armor that it used to. Still, publishers often pay for the protection in an attempt to extend a "piracy-free" time window around a game's release, when most legitimate sales occur for most titles.

So it's a bit odd that Bethesda Softworks has just quietly added Denuvo protections to Ghostwire Tokyo, a game that was quickly cracked after its Denuvo-free release just over a year ago.

The late addition was confirmed by DSOGaming, which says it triggered the new Denuvo protections in the game's latest Steam update by simulating frequent changes in the CPU. While fresh Denuvo protection seems unlikely to impact piracy for the long-cracked title, it could serve as a shield for new DLC and expansion content.