Payday 3 decides to launch without Denuvo right before release

Payday 3 is one of the most highly anticipated FPS games, and it’ll be here soon. Ahead of its upcoming launch, Starbreeze Studios has been revealing more information about what players can expect to see in-game. Now, they’ve revealed what we can expect to not see. In an interesting last-minute change, the developer has announced that Payday 3 will no longer be releasing with Denuvo, a controversial anti-cheat and anti-tampering system.

You may be thinking to yourself right about now, Payday 3 has Denuvo? Well, not anymore it doesn’t! “Hello heisters,” writes Starbreeze in its unexpected announcement, “We want to inform you that Denuvo is no longer in Payday 3.” The developer goes on to say, “We look forward to seeing you in New York City,” without further explaining the decision to axe Denuvo from the game last minute.

With the Payday 3 release date just on the horizon, it’s definitely a surprising announcement albeit one that’s becoming less and less rare from developers amid the various Denuvo controversies. Despite the official statement from Denuvo on the matter of performance drops, in which they say that the software exists both “to the benefit of the game publishers” as well as players, the public isn’t all too convinced.

Many PC gamers believe that the technology causes performance drops and other issues, making it an inconvenient implementation. Various triple-A games are removing the software or altogether simply launching without it. Resident Evil Village removed Denuvo following its release, as did Doom Eternal and Octopath Traveler 2. Other big names like Tekken 8 won’t feature Denuvo at all, similar to how Payday 3 now won’t.

While the post from Starbreeze hasn’t been explained thus far, it’s likely that the developer has weighed its community’s opinions on the matter and decided to go with what Payday 3’s prospective players would prefer, releasing without Denuvo. For now, no changes have been announced regarding the game’s required online connection.

If you’re excited to finally hop into Payday 3 when it arrives, you can spend some of the time between now and then checking out these other thrilling crime games. Alternatively, browse through a few of our all-time favorite multiplayer games for some more online fun with your friends while you await the iconic series’ third entry.