And another one bites the dust. Square Enix has just released a new update for Final Fantasy 16 that removes the Denuvo anti-tamper tech. Final Fantasy 16 came out on PC in September 2024, meaning that it took around five to six months for SE to remove it.
Final Fantasy 16 is a game that I thoroughly enjoyed. Its setting was great and, compared to other titles that end in a cliffhanger, it has a proper ending. No DLC bait, no sequel bait. This is also more of an action-oriented RPG, without any major tactical strategies.
FF16 also supports NVIDIA’s MFG. I’ve tried it and the game can be enjoyed at 8K on an NVIDIA RTX 5090. At 4K, on the same GPU, you’ll get super high framerates without any major input lag issues. And, since this was a really demanding game when it came out, a lot of you will rely on both NVIDIA DLSS 4 Super Resolution and Frame Gen.
From what I remember, FF16 did not suffer from any major stutters. So, I don’t expect the Denuvo-free version to run better. FF XVI was mostly a GPU-bound title. And, in those games, Denuvo has very little impact.
The removal of Denuvo from an SE game should not come as a surprise. After all, Square Enix has removed it 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.
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 who 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.
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, purchase it to show Square Enix that it’s on the right track.
Have fun!
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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I'm guess Denuvo is a licence cost as a lot of companies seem to remove it after their initial sales period has run. If it wasn't part of ongoing costs to a product then why would they remove it?
yeah is a subscription service.
The game sales were a$$ on PC, most likely even worse than on PS5.
Removing denuvo tends to cause a second surge of sales, not sure how big a surge but it is known to happen.
Basically why keep denuvo when you can remove it when it's done it's job, and potentially make a little money off it?
sega doesn't care only yakuza 0 has removed it.
Looking at the current state of gaming industry, I'd say it's not even needed anyway, instead just make clean games for straight audience and it'll sell. For Square, I'll play their games Only when they'll announce Sleeping Dogs 2.
not happening that game flopped but yeah the issue now is not piracy ,the issue is that they compete with actual good games from their past or indies.
No one has the time to play all those games so either they play new games that look different which sell a a lot like palworld or helldivers 2 or monster hunter, or they play old games they have not played which are better than modern games.
Not needed?
Just yesterday one of you losers (Mega DriveGirl) claimed they haven't bought a game in ages and just use FitGyal.
Pirate scum, there are millions like them.
Denuvo's not going anywhere.
How’s it feel knowing we’re running the show for four years—maybe even another four with the way you all keep handing it to us? Feeling salty yet?
most companies have stopped using it.
I dont think I've ever had issues with denuvo but it is funny to see some people gain performance back when they do the tests from launch compared to the denuvo removal patch ignorant of multiple performance patches in between the two points.
"Yes goy, lick these boots more"
lol exactly
It's all r3tards as usual.
It's been proven time and time again that Denuvo has no performance impact whatsoever.
which version of denuvo, that is the question.
It’s straight-up ghost code and doesn’t mess with a thing. Like freaking magic!
seems the game isnt selling well, why would it? By far the most generic final fantasy that runs like crap, you can play any other jrpgs on steam really, no need to rush to buy the latest generic derivative runs like crap version. i swear these companies see as money bags, BUY THE LATEST, BUY 100$ COLLECTORS EDITION, BUY DONT CARE IF YOU PLAY IT, DONT CARE IF IT RUNS WELL DONT CARE IF YOU FINISH IT, BUY IT AND BUY THE NEXT PRODUCT.
Bro i dont even have the time to finish the last game i bought months ago.
I DONT CARE JUST BUY THE PRODUCT, BUY OR WE GO BANKRUPT BUY.
It is time to remove Denuvo from Black Myth Wukong and be done with it. Power to the peasants.
Denuvo forced me to buy many games I would have just pirated. Very few, one of them being KCD 2 make me want to pay if I can just pirate. Last one i had to buy was Wukong
Still don't get why people defend its use
"People"
Nicely said,John P. I say support the developers not the DRM. so we don't have to see anymore shutdowns
Nicely said,John P. I say support the developers not the resource hungry DRMs. so we don't have to see anymore shutdowns
This game was one of the final straws, Everyone complains about wokeness inserted into AAA videogames, they say" just make good games". So a AAA storied franchise says "lets make a based medieval dark fantasy RPG", the "gamers" should Love that and make it a success. Then the "gamers" never show, they were too busy complaining about wokeness in witcher/GTA/KCD, etc. F*ck gamers.
Relax it's just game… no need to get upset.
Btw, FF16 requires a lot of vram. My 3080 has issues mainly due to full vram. Otherwise my personal favourite FF alongside X and 7 Remake Part 1.
so make sure your GPU has at least 12GB for 1080p with FF16. If you are interested, dont watch anything for this game. Trailers spoil way too much
just dive in blind
wow 11 gb isn't enough for 1080p that's ridiculous
It never even had denuvo…..wtf…moron
Darn CAPCOM should drop it immediately from mh wilds… the game already sold like crazy and the performance is a joke… game uses 12 freaking cores!
They should put another layer of DENUVO in it.
Or remove the "game" and sell the DENUVO only, it would have more appeal.