Last month, it was revealed that Windows 10 would get a more secure encrypted appx format. And it appears that the first games protected by this new encryption tech are already available on Windows Store as both Halo 5: Forge and Forza Horizon 3 use it.
But let’s take things from the beginning. Via this new secure encrypted appx format, when the user installs an application from the Windows Store, it will get encrypted on-the-fly using the Encrypting File System feature of Windows.
Once encrypted, these application files will not be accessible for modification even if full access permissions are granted.
This basically means that PC gamers won’t be able to mod the games at all. For example, modding Forza 6: APEX’s weather was really simple via XML files. This modification, however, won’t work in Forza Horizon 3 due to this new encryption tech.
The good news – at least for developers – is that via this new tech, developers are now protected against applications getting decompiled and against piracy.
Still, this whole thing comes at the cost of modding the games, so it will be interesting to see whether PC gamers will find a way to mod the latest Microsoft games (ReCore, Halo 5: Forge and Forza Horizon 3).
For what is worth, there have been some mods for Halo 5: Forge. Given its free-to-play nature, though, we don’t know whether all or certain files were encrypted. So far there haven’t been any mods for ReCore.
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
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