When Denuvo DRM first hit the scene and started safeguarding games, many believed that it was the end of piracy as we know it. That was until recently, when a cracked copy of Capcom’s Resident Evil: Requiem surfaced online days after its release through a hypervisor bypass. Now, a few weeks after the initial game’s launch, another crack version has appeared online, this time with Denuvo DRM fully disabled.
Reddit user voices38, a prominent cracker known for distributing playable versions of previously protected titles, first reported the Denuvo-free crack. This also makes Resident Evil Requiem the first game released in 2026 to have its anti-tamper protection fully removed.
What makes this especially notable is how quickly hackers pulled it off. In most cases, it takes months before they can fully strip Denuvo DRM from a title. The fact that someone was able to remove the DRM in under 40 days suggests the protection may be becoming easier to crack. Additionally, voices38 claims to have been developing toolkits for modern Denuvo for some time, adding that it takes about two weeks to fully crack the game using these tools.
That said, those using the hypervisor bypass aren’t resting on their laurels, as another user has found a way to make it work without disabling any Windows security features. This could pave the way for the crack to become a plug-and-play solution for anyone looking to use it. However, some users may shy away from the hypervisor-based method due to potential security risks.
With two versions of the crack now available online, it was only a matter of time before someone compared them. YouTuber ChillyWillMD pitted the two against each other and found that the voices38 crack delivered around 5% higher FPS, a reduction of 1.5GB to 2GB in VRAM usage, and nearly 1GB less system memory usage.
Moreover, the video also highlighted improvements in CPU usage spikes and frametime consistency on the cracked version, with fewer spikes and slightly lower frametimes leading to smoother overall gameplay. Systems with weaker processors could potentially see even greater gains from the removal of Denuvo.
That said, we’d like to remind you that, though we are reporting on this story, we do not condone piracy or the unauthorised distribution of copyrighted software. While having anti-piracy software slow down game performance is certainly frustrating, that does not mean you should resort to illegal means to bypass it.
