The same spikes don't appear when the same save file is loaded on the game's cracked version. In other words, the image freezes for a noticeable moment before the game catches up, and this can be seen in RTSS's real-time graph as a spike. The retail version includes easily reproducible scenarios where attacking an advancing zombie with a gun-something you do quite often in Resident Evil games-can trigger a visible on-screen stutter. AdvertisementĪrs has seen like-for-like scenarios played out on RE8:V's retail and cracked versions on the same midgrade gaming PC with a RivaTuner Statistics Server (RTSS) performance graph turned on. While Ars Technica is-for obvious reasons-not in a position to perform comprehensive tests of RE8:V's cracked version, we have independently verified that the Empress release solves at least one infamous issue with the existing retail version: frame-time spikes. The messaging continues with a key clarification: Capcom's DRM was 'fully obfuscated' in a Denuvo virtual machine, thus making the game 'run even slower.' More bullets, fewer spikes THIS IS PURE CANCER AND ANYONE WHO ACCEPTS THIS IS NOTHING BUT A PATHETIC GARBAGE HUMAN SLAVE! This results in much smoother game experience. The game's cracked version, credited to the release group Empress, includes an 'NFO' text file that cites two distinct antipiracy prevention measures: 'Denuvo V11' and 'Capcom Anti-Tamper V3.' While the NFO text includes its fair share of anti-Denuvo language, the Empress author's technical breakdown of the crack says both systems working in concert are to blame:Īll in-game shutters like the one from when you kill a zombie are fixed because Capcom DRM's entry points are patched out so most of their functions are never executed anymore. In sadly unsurprising news, as with at least a few other cracked PC games in recent years, this scene release came with a bonus that's currently only available to freeloaders: improved performance. Over the weekend, the PC version of May 2021's Resident Evil 8: Village was apparently cracked and uploaded to various piracy depositories.

Denuvo cracked