Great news for all JRPG fans as Square Enix has removed the Denuvo anti-tamper tech from DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake. As such, you can now buy and support this HD-2D Remake of this classic Dragon Quest game.
DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake came out in November 2024. So, this means that it took around six months for SE to remove it. This falls in line with what we’ve seen for most SE games that used Denuvo.
This shouldn’t really surprise anyone. After all, Square Enix has removed Denuvo from a lot of its titles. For instance, the publisher has removed it from games like The Diofield Chronicle, VALKYRIE ELYSIUM, TRIANGLE STRATEGY, LIVE A LIVE and Forspoken. Moreover, both Octopath Traveler and its sequel no longer use it. And, in May 2024, SE removed it from Star Ocean The Second Story R. Finally, in March 2025, the publisher removed it from Final Fantasy 16.
As we’ve reported, other companies have also removed Denuvo from several of their titles. In March 2023, KRAFTON removed Denuvo from The Callisto Protocol. NEOWIZ has also removed it from its Souls-like game, Lies of P. In October 2024, Gearbox has also removed it from Homeworld 3.
And that’s not all. Bethesda’s Wolfenstein Youngblood, Ghostwire: Tokyo and Doom Eternal no longer have it. Warner Bros has also removed it from Mortal Kombat 11. Then we have Bandai Namco, which has removed it from Tekken 7 and NARUTO TO BORUTO: SHINOBI STRIKER.
As I’ve already said, Square Enix shows how publishers should be using Denuvo. Yes, you can use it to protect your games during their launch period. However, there is no point in using it after six or twelve months. After that period, it can only harm your customers. So, the best thing then is to simply remove it.
I just hope that other publishers will follow Square Enix’s example. Earlier this month, it was revealed that Stellar Blade will use Denuvo. Then we have the new Mafia, which will also use it. Plus, Doom: The Dark Ages uses it. So, it will be great if these three games ditch Denuvo six to twelve months after their release.
And there you have it. Another game that is no longer plagued by Denuvo. And I know. Some of you will sail the seas to try it. However, if you end up liking it, you should purchase it to show Square Enix that it’s on the right track.
Enjoy and stay tuned for more!
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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