'Final Fantasy XV' news: Denuvo DRM impact measured for PC version

Promotional image for the PC version of "Final Fantasy XV"Steam

"Final Fantasy XV" for the PC did something right for the PC gamers, something surprisingly rare for a console port. this was proven when the performance impact of the PC version's security feature for the game was measured.

The said security measure was none other than the Denuvo anti-tamper and anti-piracy digital rights management (DRM) software that protects the game against hackers and pirates looking to distribute the game for free. Apparently, based on the tests conducted by various tech websites for video games, "Final Fantasy XV's" Denuvo does not hinder the performance of gaming PCs.

This was quite a breath of fresh air since Denuvo has been notorious recently due to how it was implemented for "Assassin's Creed: Origins" where the DRM coupled with another heavy security software reportedly put quite a huge strain on the users' central processing units (CPU). For some, the performance was even hobbled, causing quite an outrage since the game supposedly demanded more than its system requirements.

Luckily, PC owners will not experience the same supposed Denuvo hindrance in "Final Fantasy XV." Test results show little to no difference in the performance of the game where the methodology involved testing the DRM-less demo version against the full release which had the DRM. The results, which showed little to no performance differences, are for the game's built-in benchmark that is used for measuring the frame rate.

Though not all aspects of the game's performance are unaffected by Denuvo, PC Gamer reports that the said DRM might cause a minuscule delay in the game's loading times. Their results for loading times tests revealed that Denuvo could slow down the metric by as much as 6.7 percent, not noticeable for the layman, but it should be there.

Regardless, once players get in-game and out of the loading screen, Denuvo will trouble them no more. It is a bit too late for that praising Denuvo though, as hackers have already managed to release a free and pirated version of "Final Fantasy XV" days before it was even released.