Irdeto Enhances Denuvo Anti-cheat With New Watermarking Feature to Trace Potential Leakers

Irdeto, the developer behind the renowned Denuvo DRM, has showcased a brand-new feature for their Anticheat system at the ongoing Game Developers Conference (GDC) held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California, United States. Named TraceMark for Gaming, this technology is a cutting-edge watermarking solution, designed to track and identify the source of gameplay leaks.

This marks a step in the right direction for game security and anti-piracy measures, as it is expected to be a valuable tool for developers to protect their intellectual properties. Without further ado, let's delve into the details of this innovative feature.

TraceMark for Gaming Will Add a Unique Identifier to Trace Back to the Leaked Source

Irdeto’s Watermarking technology was previously implemented by Hollywood studios, sports leagues, and pay-TV operators, but with the introduction of TraceMark, the company brings their product to be incorporated into the gaming industry. This watermarking feature can supposedly be added to a developer’s workflow and be applied anytime during the development stage of their IPs.

What makes TraceMark enticing is the fact that developers can choose to add visible or invisible watermarks that will be unique to each build or user with no apparent impact on quality. If in case their gameplay footage is leaked, this technology can precisely track the origin of the leaked content. Irdeto states “This capability makes potential leakers think twice, knowing that any unauthorised distribution can be directly linked to them.”

While it does many use cases, it specifically seems to be targeted at internal playtesters, game journalists, and content creators who might have access to unreleased projects that are in the early stages of production. TraceMark will prevent any data leaked during this stage of game development as it can trace back the leaked source to its origin.  

Irdeto states “It enables precise tracing and authentication of individual users participating in these tests, providing developers with the ability to confidently trace any leaks back to their source. The solution can be used together with the Denuvo Anti-Piracy product (Anti-Tamper), to control distribution of pre-release content.”

Denuvo DRM has been part of the gaming industry for several years now, mainly found in popular AAA titles from big-name publishers and game studios such as Capcom, Warner Bros. Games, Ubisoft, etc. Although it is favored by several other game studios for its anti-tampering capabilities, it is despised by many gamers, due to its reputation to cause performance issues, even on top-end PC hardware. Whether the addition of TraceMark will further aggravate these concerns remains uncertain.