Denuvo Announces Switch Emulator Protection To Fight Piracy

For many PC gamers, Denuvo has become a familiar name in the world of anti-piracy – with its implementation in various games to fight against piracy at launch for many games. Well, it looks like Switch owners may see Denuvo making its way to the hybrid console system in the near future as well.

Irdeto, the company behind Denuvo, has announced that it is introducing “Switch Emulator Protection” – which is intended to counter the piracy of Switch games on PCs. The company claims that this protection will integrate “seamlessly into the build toolchain with no impact on the gaming experience” – although this remains to be confirmed, given that the gaming community has previously raised criticisms against Denuvo on PC for slowing down legitimate copies of games.

Here is the full announcement below:

AMSTERDAM, August 24, 2022 – Denuvo by Irdeto, the global leader in providing security solutions for video games on desktop, console, and mobile platforms, is pleased to unveil a revolutionary technology to protect games launching on Nintendo Switch from piracy. The announcement comes as the video gaming industry is gathered for this year’s Gamescom, currently taking place in Cologne, Germany.

Nintendo consoles have long suffered from piracy issues and the Switch is no different. Even if a game is protected against piracy on its PC version, the released version on Switch can be emulated from day one and played on PC, therefore bypassing the strong protections offered on the PC version. This can happen with any of the numerous games available on Switch.

By preventing piracy on Switch while blocking unauthorized emulations on PC, studios are able to increase their revenue during the game launch window, which is the most important period in regard to monetization. The Nintendo Switch Emulator Protection will ensure that anyone wishing to play the game has to buy a legitimate copy.

As with all other Denuvo solutions, the technology integrates seamlessly into the build toolchain with no impact on the gaming experience. It then allows for the insertion of checks into the code, which  blocks gameplay on emulators.

“We at Denuvo understand that piracy negatively affects the gaming industry and are working with the industry parties to ensure they have the latest protection technologies available for them. Our team is excited to provide a solution that helps the developers and publishers to help fight the issue of Nintendo Switch piracy,” said Reinhard Blaukovitsch, Managing Director at Denuvo by Irdeto.

Even though it is hard to pinpoint the exact number of players who emulate Switch games on PC, it is easy to find online forums dedicated to emulation and piracy. The most popular groups have more than one million followers each. Recent research conducted by Irdeto in collaboration with Omdia found that 84% of game developers are continuously concerned about tampering and piracy. The study also found that 93% of those using anti-cheat and anti-tamper solutions are satisfied with the protection and value brought by game protection technologies.