What Having Denuvo DRM Means for Mortal Kombat 1

A new update on the Mortal Kombat 1 Steam page revealed that the new game, set to feature many highly anticipated faces, will also make use of the Denuvo DRM software, previously featured in Mortal Kombat 11. But what exactly does the Denuvo DRM software do? And what does its return mean for Mortal Kombat 1?

Denuvo DRM, Explained

Denuvo Anti-Tamper (also referred to as Denuvo DRM) is a Digital rights management third-party software focused on stopping both hacking and the piracy of titles.

Related: Mortal Kombat 1: All Confirmed Characters

Why Does the PC Gaming Community Seem to Hate Denuvo?

Although highly effective in its main job, Denuvo DRM earned the distrust of the PC gaming community given the way the software seems to negatively impact the performance of many games. The reason for that seems to lie in how demanding the software is CPU-wise. In an interview with Ars Technica, Irdeto (the owner of the Denuvo brand) denied that its software is the main cause for any kind of loss in performance.

Many believe that the alleged effect the software has on performance and the stigma the brand carries were the main factors as to why Bethesda and Microsoft have decided to launch Starfield without it. Katsuhiro Harada, the creator of the Tekken series, also revealed that Tekken 8 will not feature the DRM on launch.

Related: Starfield Review

What Does Denuvo DRM Mean for MK 1

Even if the use of the Denuvo DRM technology succeeds in stopping users from hacking and pirating the game, at least initially, there’s a chance that those who play the game on PC will have to deal with a decrease in overall performance, which may result in FPS drops, and in more extreme scenarios, an increase in input lag.