Digital rights management (DRM) technology from Denuvo has been bypassed in all single-player PC games previously protected by the system, according to reports from April 28, 2026.
The development marks a significant turning point in the ongoing battle between game developers seeking to prevent piracy and those attempting to circumvent copy protection measures. Denuvo’s DRM has long been a point of contention within the PC gaming community, often criticized for impacting game performance.
The breakthrough came as a result of work by two groups: the MKDev collective and a programmer known as DenuvOwO. They developed a hypervisor-based bypass (HVB) that installs a kernel-level driver to intercept and respond to Denuvo’s security checks. While not a complete “crack” of the DRM, the HVB is sufficient for piracy purposes.
Simultaneously, a cracker known as voices38 successfully removed Denuvo entirely from several recent titles, including Resident Evil: Requiem. This dual approach effectively neutralized Denuvo’s protections across a wide range of games.
In response, 2K Games reportedly implemented a 14-day mandatory online check for several titles, including NBA 2K25, NBA 2K26, and Marvel’s Midnight Suns. This new measure requires a connection to Denuvo’s servers and cannot be emulated by the HVB, necessitating a full game crack to bypass. The move harkens back to older DRM schemes that required constant online connectivity, potentially causing issues for players with unstable internet access or those who travel frequently.
The new online check differs from Denuvo’s existing one-time activation process, which remains in effect after the initial game launch and persists unless hardware or software changes are detected. The situation highlights the evolving tactics employed by both DRM developers and those seeking to bypass them, and the challenges of balancing copy protection with a positive user experience.
