{"id":1829274,"date":"2026-03-16T12:39:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T09:39:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1829274"},"modified":"2026-03-16T12:39:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T09:39:36","slug":"doom-the-dark-ages-has-had-its-controversial-denuvo-drm-software-compromised-by-pirates-making-it-the-first-2025-release-to-be-cracked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1829274","title":{"rendered":"Doom: The Dark Ages has had its controversial Denuvo DRM software compromised by pirates, making it the first 2025 release to be &#8216;cracked&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/doom-the-dark-ages\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Doom: The Dark Ages<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Doom: The Dark Ages has had its controversial Denuvo DRM software compromised by pirates, making it the first 2025 release to be &#8216;cracked&#8217;<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Ripped and torn.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/doom-the-dark-ages-flying-monster.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"A cybernetic dragon roars and spreads its wings in Doom: The Dark Ages.\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"doom-the-dark-ages-flying-monster.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Bethesda Softworks<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/fran-j-ruiz-author.png?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"fran-j-ruiz-author.png\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/fran-ruiz\">Fran Ruiz<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-03-16T12:39:36+00:00\">March 16, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/doom-the-dark-ages-denuvo-has-been-cracked?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          10 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"eb723ee8-7b74-4798-a76c-9da4ec5a9021\" data-name=\"Doom: The Dark Ages\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Doom: The Dark Ages\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Doom: The Dark Ages\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Doom: The Dark Ages\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Doom: The Dark Ages\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Doom: The Dark Ages\" title=\"Follow Doom: The Dark Ages\"><br \/>\n  Follow Doom: The Dark Ages<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Xbox-published shooter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/doom-the-dark-ages\">Doom: The Dark Ages<\/a> has been cracked by anti-DRM pirates, it&#8217;s been revealed, with a Reddit user who goes by voices38 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/CrackWatch\/comments\/1rsydlr\/doomthedarkagesvoices38\/\">announcing<\/a> the bypassing of its unpopular Denuvo software on 13th March (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thegamer.com\/doom-the-dark-ages-cracked-on-pc\/\">via TheGamer<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>It marks the first game released in 2025 to have its digital rights management software illicitly circumvented so far, with last year&#8217;s games previously proving particularly resilient to attempts until now.<\/p>\n<p>DRM, in particular <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/topics\/denuvo\">Denuvo<\/a>, has been rather effective at slowing down attempts from pirates to crack recent games, but the anti-piracy technology also been super effective at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalfoundry.net\/articles\/digitalfoundry-2019-devil-may-cry-5-pc-denuvo-protection-tested\">compromising games&#8217; PC performance<\/a>. Coupled with the sense of wider retrictions on owners of legitimately-purchased digital media, the result has been a general distrust of the technology &#8211; Denuvo is wildly unpopular amongst many &#8211; leaving publishers in an awkward position as they seek to protect their interests.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s a subset of PC players that <a href=\"https:\/\/steamcommunity.com\/app\/3017860\/discussions\/0\/599648251203869221\/\">tends to avoid buying games<\/a> that have Denuvo applied, for instance. Others who legitimately purchase <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamesn.com\/drm\/why-are-pc-developers-removing-denuvo\">DRM-covered games<\/a> meanwhile have in the past found many of these cracks useful, due to CPU performance gains that come as a result. The latest blood-soaked shooter from id Software is an example &#8211; it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/doom-the-dark-ages-review\">was a great time overall<\/a>, but its use of Denuvo attracted criticism at the time. <\/p>\n<p>As for the Reddit post about its &#8216;cracking&#8217;, the original poster added a note that &#8220;the next one will surprise you,&#8221; suggesting their anti-Denuvo efforts might impact an even more recent release soon.<\/p>\n<p>In recent years, we&#8217;ve seen some publishers move away from Denuvo once popular games are further along in their life cycles. At the opposite end, however, Capcom recently removed Denuvo from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/resident-evil-4\">Resident Evil 4<\/a> remake, only to apply <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalfoundry.net\/news\/2026\/02\/tested-resident-evil-4-remakes-new-pc-drm-impacts-cpu-performance\">an even worse form of DRM that&#8217;s made its performance suffer even further<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the anti-DRM distribution platform <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/gog-eyes-indie-game-publishing-something-it-couldnt-do-under-cd-projekt-red\">GOG is seeking to expand its operation<\/a> under new leadership. The storefront has famously been anti-DRM, raising the question of whether that is something that will continue to be a central pillar of the store&#8217;s philosophy in the future.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Xbox-published shooter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/doom-the-dark-ages\">Doom: The Dark Ages<\/a> has been cracked by anti-DRM pirates, it&#8217;s been revealed, with a Reddit user who goes by voices38 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/CrackWatch\/comments\/1rsydlr\/doomthedarkagesvoices38\/\">announcing<\/a> the bypassing of its unpopular Denuvo software on 13th March (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thegamer.com\/doom-the-dark-ages-cracked-on-pc\/\">via TheGamer<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>It marks the first game released in 2025 to have its digital rights management software illicitly circumvented so far, with last year&#8217;s games previously proving particularly resilient to attempts until now.<\/p>\n<p>DRM, in particular <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/topics\/denuvo\">Denuvo<\/a>, has been rather effective at slowing down attempts from pirates to crack recent games, but the anti-piracy technology also been super effective at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalfoundry.net\/articles\/digitalfoundry-2019-devil-may-cry-5-pc-denuvo-protection-tested\">compromising games&#8217; PC performance<\/a>. Coupled with the sense of wider retrictions on owners of legitimately-purchased digital media, the result has been a general distrust of the technology &#8211; Denuvo is wildly unpopular amongst many &#8211; leaving publishers in an awkward position as they seek to protect their interests.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s a subset of PC players that <a href=\"https:\/\/steamcommunity.com\/app\/3017860\/discussions\/0\/599648251203869221\/\">tends to avoid buying games<\/a> that have Denuvo applied, for instance. Others who legitimately purchase <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamesn.com\/drm\/why-are-pc-developers-removing-denuvo\">DRM-covered games<\/a> meanwhile have in the past found many of these cracks useful, due to CPU performance gains that come as a result. The latest blood-soaked shooter from id Software is an example &#8211; it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/doom-the-dark-ages-review\">was a great time overall<\/a>, but its use of Denuvo attracted criticism at the time. <\/p>\n<p>As for the Reddit post about its &#8216;cracking&#8217;, the original poster added a note that &#8220;the next one will surprise you,&#8221; suggesting their anti-Denuvo efforts might impact an even more recent release soon.<\/p>\n<p>In recent years, we&#8217;ve seen some publishers move away from Denuvo once popular games are further along in their life cycles. At the opposite end, however, Capcom recently removed Denuvo from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/resident-evil-4\">Resident Evil 4<\/a> remake, only to apply <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalfoundry.net\/news\/2026\/02\/tested-resident-evil-4-remakes-new-pc-drm-impacts-cpu-performance\">an even worse form of DRM that&#8217;s made its performance suffer even further<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the anti-DRM distribution platform <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/gog-eyes-indie-game-publishing-something-it-couldnt-do-under-cd-projekt-red\">GOG is seeking to expand its operation<\/a> under new leadership. The storefront has famously been anti-DRM, raising the question of whether that is something that will continue to be a central pillar of the store&#8217;s philosophy in the future.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Doom: The Dark Ages Doom: The Dark Ages has had its controversial Denuvo DRM software compromised by pirates, making it the first 2025 release to be &#8216;cracked&#8217; Ripped and torn. Image credit: Bethesda Softworks News by Fran Ruiz Contributor Published on March 16, 2026 10 comments Follow Doom: The Dark Ages Xbox-published shooter [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1829274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1829274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1829274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1829274\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1829274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1829274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1829274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}