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[LectureMaster]

Denuvo's new feature can invisibly watermark your game footage so publishers can track down leakers. - GamerReporter

Denuvo's New Watermarking Feature: A Game-Changer for Content Security

gamerreporter.com

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Denuvo’s New Watermarking Feature: A Game-Changer for Content Security

Denuvo by Irdeto has introduced a feature at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2024, aimed at curbing the rampant issue of pre-release game leaks. Dubbed “TraceMark for Gaming,” this new technology could redefine how game developers and publishers safeguard their intellectual property during the sensitive pre-release phase.

What is TraceMark for Gaming?

TraceMark for Gaming leverages what Irdeto describes as “core invisible watermark technology,” which has been trusted by Hollywood studios, sports leagues, and pay-TV operators. Essentially, this tool allows developers to embed a unique identifier, or watermark, into game footage. These watermarks can be either visible or invisible, providing a dual approach to tracking leaks.

The invisible aspect is particularly intriguing; it means that leakers might not even know their content carries a traceable mark. According to Irdeto, this watermark can withstand various forms of tampering like changes in luminance, blurring, and cropping, ensuring that the identification remains intact even if attempts are made to obscure it.

The Mechanics and Applications

TraceMark can be integrated into a game’s development cycle at various stages, from internal playtesting to sending out review copies. Each build or copy of the game can be uniquely marked, giving developers the ability to trace any leaked content back to its source. This feature is especially useful during:

• Internal Playtests: To monitor who might be leaking content from within the development team.
• Closed Beta Tests: Ensuring that beta testers under NDAs do not share unauthorized content.
• Review Copies: Allowing publishers to trace leaks back to specific critics or influencers.

Irdeto claims that this technology not only aids in identifying leakers but also acts as a deterrent. Knowing that any unauthorized distribution can be traced back to them might make potential leakers reconsider their actions.

Industry Reactions and Implications

The introduction of TraceMark for Gaming has sparked a variety of reactions within the gaming community:

• Developers and Publishers: Many are likely to welcome this technology, especially those who have suffered from leaks that could spoil the surprise of their game’s launch or even impact sales. The ability to maintain secrecy and control over content distribution could be a significant relief, particularly for high-profile releases.
• Gamers and Content Creators: There’s a mixed bag of sentiments here. While some appreciate the effort to protect game integrity, others are wary of Denuvo’s involvement due to its history with DRM (Digital Rights Management). Denuvo DRM has been criticized for allegedly impacting game performance, leading to a negative perception among some players.
• Privacy Concerns: The technology raises questions about privacy, especially if not well-regulated. There’s a fine line between protecting content and potentially infringing on user privacy, especially if the watermarks could be used to track individuals beyond the intended scope.

A Step Forward or a Slippery Slope?

TraceMark for Gaming represents a step forward in content security, but it also poses ethical and privacy challenges. Here are some considerations:

• Effectiveness: While the technology promises precision in tracking, its real-world effectiveness will be tested against sophisticated leakers or those with access to advanced cracking tools, much like the ongoing battle with traditional DRM.
• Performance Impact: Given Denuvo’s history, concerns about whether this watermarking will affect game performance or user experience are valid. Irdeto would need to ensure that this feature does not add to the already existing criticisms of their products.
• Legal and Ethical Boundaries: The use of such technology needs clear guidelines to prevent misuse, ensuring it’s used strictly for identifying content leaks rather than broader surveillance.

Denuvo’s TraceMark for Gaming is undoubtedly an innovative solution for an industry plagued by leaks, but its adoption will be closely watched. Developers might embrace this tool for the peace of mind it offers, but the community will be keen to see if it can be implemented without the downsides that have historically come with Denuvo’s solutions. As with all technology that intersects with creativity and privacy, balance is key.

For now, as we await more feedback from both developers and gamers, TraceMark for Gaming stands as a testament to the ongoing battle between content creators and those who would share it prematurely.

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[ReBurn]

It would have been more fun if they announced it while exposing a leaker or two. The popcorn opportunity is gone.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

Fuck Denuvo!

 

[ReyBrujo]

As far as I know Direct TV does something similar when playing soccer matches down here to cut subscriptions if they find someone streaming a live match, was kind of the next step. They should have kept it secret, though, until a big fish was caught.

 

[sendit]

Fuck Denuvo!

Nah. You should be saying "Fuck pirates". They created a market for Denuvo to exist.

 

[Pasta la Vista]

Sounds like something Nintendo would want in on.

 

[FunkMiller]

Nah. You should be saying "Fuck pirates". They created a market for Denuvo to exist.

How about fuck greedy games companies who put out broken, half finished games for 70 bucks, and refuse to make demos anymore?

They created a market for Denuvo to exist.

 

[Generic]

The evil is real.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

How about fuck greedy games companies who put out broken, half finished games for 70 bucks, and refuse to make demos anymore?

They created a market for Denuvo to exist.

It's not even demos they refuse. It seems like they refuse any quality assurance or play testing.

Remember when there used to be play testers for video games so they wouldn't be a broken mess?

Yeah fuck those pirates. We're going to make it so everyone is punished and you can't even own a game anymore, just a license.

So much fucking bullshit. And you got to love the people who boot lick and defend this shit.

 

[Jinzo Prime]

Sounds like something Nintendo would want in on.

Denuvo for Switch has apparently been a thing since 2023:

Denuvo security is now on Switch, including new tech to block PC Switch emulation | VGC

The company is the first security partner to be added to the Nintendo Developer Portal…

www.videogameschronicle.com

But I don't know of any titles that ever used it

 

[sendit]

How about fuck greedy games companies who put out broken, half finished games for 70 bucks, and refuse to make demos anymore?

They created a market for Denuvo to exist.

Developing games isnt cheap. Wait for reviews to show up, watch a video on youtube, read complaints on reddit. The gameplay of game isnt covered in secrecy to where a informed customer cant make an educated buying decision.

If you game on PC, Steam offers a < 2 hour refund. Stop playing the victim card and using it as a excuse to pirate.

 

[FunkMiller]

Developing games isnt cheap. Wait for reviews to show up, watch a video on youtube, read complaints on reddit. The gameplay of game isnt covered in secrecy to where a informed customer cant make an educated buying decision.

If you game on PC, Steam offers a < 2 hour refund. Stop playing the victim card and using it as a excuse to pirate.

I love how your automatic reaction 'oh, you must be a pirate yourself to say that'. Perfectly possible to not engage in piracy, but also not lambast those that do, considering how fucking terrible the games companies are these days when it comes to customer service.

 

[nkarafo]

Nah. You should be saying "Fuck pirates". They created a market for Denuvo to exist.

 

[Barakov]

This makes it even easier to ignore games that use denuvo now.

 

[kevboard]

uh... run the screenshots or videos through a quick blur filter... done... there's no way they can watermark something invisibly if you fuck with the footage enough.

 

[Laptop1991]

Gaming is in a bad enough state as it is lol, these guys won't help much.

 

[Don Carlo]

Fuck Denuvo!

LOUDER

 

[xrnzaaas]

Nah. You should be saying "Fuck pirates". They created a market for Denuvo to exist.

This message was brought to you by the Denuvo Corporation.

 

[Firestartah]

Nah. You should be saying "Fuck pirates". They created a market for Denuvo to exist.

And there it is, the most retarded post of 2024, we really had to wait until the tail end of the year to get it, but here it is.

 

[Mithos]

If Denuvo is in your game, it does not exist for me. When/If you remove it I consider that to be the release date.

 

[Astray]

This only affects people who signed NDAs to get advance copies of games.

If you signed an NDA with a company and then decided to violate it for whatever reason, then best of luck to you, but don't expect me to support your case if you're ever caught.

 

[sendit]

I love how your automatic reaction 'oh, you must be a pirate yourself to say that'. Perfectly possible to not engage in piracy, but also not lambast those that do, considering how fucking terrible the games companies are these days when it comes to customer service.

Again, stop playing the victim card. No one is forcing you to buy the game. Speak with your wallet. Not the same situation, but what happened to Concord speaks volumes.

Dont buy a game with Denovo. Don’t buy games that Sweet baby Inc influenced.

 

[sendit]

If Denuvo is in your game, it does not exist for me. When/If you remove it I consider that to be the release date.

You mean Denuvo isn’t holding a gun to your head forcing you to buy the game?

 

[BlackTron]

uh... run the screenshots or videos through a quick blur filter... done... there's no way they can watermark something invisibly if you fuck with the footage enough.

According to Irdeto, this watermark can withstand various forms of tampering like changes in luminance, blurring, and cropping, ensuring that the identification remains intact even if attempts are made to obscure it.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

If Denuvo is in your game, it does not exist for me. When/If you remove it I consider that to be the release date.

It's so strange that you'll have somewhat obscure games like Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters that have Denuvo but big hit games like Baldurs Gate 3, Rogue Trader, Witcher, etc that are DRM free on a platform like GOG.

 

[MMaRsu]

Nah. You should be saying "Fuck pirates". They created a market for Denuvo to exist.

 

[rofif]

I mean,... they shouldn't be talking about this lol. idiots

 

[sendit]

Slow down with the gifs buddy. Denovo is a direct result of piracy.

 

[Three]

How about fuck greedy games companies who put out broken, half finished games for 70 bucks, and refuse to make demos anymore?

They created a market for Denuvo to exist.

Reaching with this deflection, broken games have nothing to do with piracy. Sure fuck broken games but that's no reason to pirate or related to it. You'd still be pirating a broken game.

Steam offers 2 hours return policy and PSN allows 2 hour trials on most games. Use those. The "no demo so I got to pirate this" isn't a good excuse.

 

[Garibaldi]

This sort of tech won't be in the retail version though surely? Why do we need it at that stage?

I can understand when it's going through the development/pre-release cycle.

I wonder how it works on PC. Where you have various different capture mechanisms, encoding settings and sound capture options.

 

[winjer]

Denuvo is a cancer on paying consumers.

 

[RagnarokIV]

They’ll have someone at denuvo wank on the game and wait for the semen to dry. Then when needed they put a UV light on the game to reveal whose juice it is. From there they can trace it to an individual copy.

 

[sendit]

This sort of tech won't be in the retail version though surely? Why do we need it at that stage?

I can understand when it's going through the development/pre-release cycle.

I wonder how it works on PC. Where you have various different capture mechanisms, encoding settings and sound capture

Denovo doesnt exist for consoles, closed eco system with their own DRM. This is a PC issue where pirating is inherently easier.

It would be interesting to understand how they would prevent external captures (phones/cameras).

 

[Garibaldi]

Denovo doesnt exist for consoles, closed eco system with their own DRM. This is a PC issue where pirating is inherently easier.

I never mentioned consoles. Watermarking footage is a pre-release issue too. Not a pirating issue.

 

[Three]

I remember on the xbox 360 this was built in to the system to catch leakers and get their gamertag, which was encoded into the watermark.

How would this identify you? Would the publisher need to keep track of some kind of ID with the sent out copies?

 

[awwr999999]

Developing games isnt cheap. Wait for reviews to show up, watch a video on youtube, read complaints on reddit. The gameplay of game isnt covered in secrecy to where a informed customer cant make an educated buying decision.
If you game on PC, Steam offers a < 2 hour refund. Stop playing the victim card and using it as a excuse to pirate.

PlayStation's game sales numbers will skyrocket when they adopt Steam's 2hr no questions asked return window on PSN.
Removing all of the risk from the game buying process is what's made Steam so successful.

 

[bender]

Great news!

 

[Grizzled Ghost]

uh... run the screenshots or videos through a quick blur filter... done... there's no way they can watermark something invisibly if you fuck with the footage enough.

It's an invisible watermark, so you don't know where it is. You would have to blur the whole screen. What's the point of putting out blurred footage?

 

[Lethal01]

It's an invisible watermark, so you don't know where it is. You would have to blur the whole screen. What's the point of putting out blurred footage?

People get hype for footage taken from out of focus crappy 2005 cellphone cameras if it's a leak.

 

[MetalRain]

I bet you can just encode the video multiple times and watermark goes away.

 

[kevboard]

It's an invisible watermark, so you don't know where it is. You would have to blur the whole screen. What's the point of putting out blurred footage?

blurring to the point of it destroying any signature it could sneak into the footage, not untill the screen becomes unrecognisable.

if you are leaking footage, I don't think it's your priority to have a super clean image quality lol

 

[Gp1]

Denovo doesnt exist for consoles...

This is exactly the kind of tech Nintendo would wants to hunt down leakers and streamers.

 

[Karak]

It's an invisible watermark, so you don't know where it is. You would have to blur the whole screen. What's the point of putting out blurred footage?

Correct and if its anything like our last company we worked with, and I assume its WAY more advanced, its entropy staged and isn't a "watermark" in the same way for instance a GPU test software may be. Which means encoded into various places across many pixels and impervious to tons of encoding passes. Some of the tech online talks about even older versions some software companies have used internal and they withstood hundreds of encodes because its masked as real data across a TON of pixels per screen with no discerable way for a person to see it. That being said I do suspect a simple AI scanner will be made quickly to at least find it on a screen.
Also companies have been doing this for awhile. First game I saw something like this on was over 6 years ago. Just not widely used.

 

[HRK69]

Slow down with the gifs buddy. Denovo is a direct result of piracy.

If Denuvo were purely a reaction to piracy, it would disappear once a game is cracked

But it doesn’t. Many games keep Denuvo long after their crack is available. Because it’s about control, not just piracy prevention. Publishers want to dictate how and when you play, often tying it to online checks or limiting resale

Pirates crack Denuvo within weeks (sometimes days), while paying customers get stuck with performance issues, stuttering etc.

So, if Denuvo is really “protecting” the game, why does it harm the people who actually bought it?

 

[Bartski]

Correct and if its anything like our last company we worked with, and I assume its WAY more advanced, its entropy staged and isn't a "watermark" in the same way for instance a GPU test software may be. Which means encoded into various places across many pixels and impervious to tons of encoding passes. Some of the tech online talks about even older versions some software companies have used internal and they withstood hundreds of encodes because its masked as real data across a TON of pixels per screen with no discerable way for a person to see it. That being said I do suspect a simple AI scanner will be made quickly to at least find it on a screen.
Also companies have been doing this for awhile. First game I saw something like this on was over 6 years ago. Just not widely used.

Interesting. I also thought this tech was ages old and the go-to method to secure stuff from remote playtesting to review codes, but it makes sense it could be disrupted by multiple passes of resolution altering encoding. Which also explains why so many leaks are like 740p or phone recordings of a screen.