Asmongold accuses Denuvo of “gaslighting” players by claiming DRM benefits games

Twitch streamer Asmongold is lashing out at anti-piracy company Denuvo for claims that DRM actually makes games better.

Many PC players aren’t fans of Denuvo, the anti-piracy, DRM software, for hindering game performance.

In an interview with Rock Paper Shotgun, its product manager, Andreas Ullmann, defended the software, claiming that players simply don’t understand the benefit of DRM, a technology that controls and limits how users access and share content.

Ullmann referenced a study about how piracy can take up 20% of a game’s revenue and argued: “I think it’s super hard for a gamer. I’m a gamer myself, and therefore I know what I’m talking about. I think it’s super hard to see, as a gamer, what is the immediate benefit for me that a certain game developer, game publisher, is using our anti-piracy services.”

“[DRM] does not have an immediate benefit for me as a player. But if you look further, the more successful a game is, the longer it will get updates. The more additional content will come to that game, the more likely it is that there will be a next iteration of the game. That’s basically the benefits that we offer to the average player,” he explained.

This interview began spreading in the gaming community and got the attention of Asmongold, who has been unable to stream while serving a two-week suspension for controversial remarks he made on Twitch.

“There is no benefit for players that any anti-piracy measures exist in a game except in some abstract sense of more sales=better games in the future,” he blasted. “Need anti-piracy for a game? Sure, do it. Just don’t gaslight customers and insult their intelligence to suggest it’s an upgrade.”

When someone responded about how Denuvo hurts game performance and should be removed, he further offered up an anecdote, comparing DRM software to going to a store that has a problem with shoplifting.

“Maybe I’m weird, but I view DRM as the same type of inconvenience as going to Walmart and having to find an employee to unlock the glass case to get a 12 pack of socks,” he pondered. “Annoying, waste of time, worse experience, but I can understand and respect why it exists.”

Asmongold’s Twitch ban should be lifted on October 29 and, with the streamer promising to get right back to speaking his mind about controversial gaming subjects, it’s likely this isn’t the last we’ll hear from him about Denuvo or other anti-piracy software.