Denuvo Reveals New Anti-Piracy Technology for Nintendo Switch

Written by Brandon Hofer on August 24, 2022

News: It will become harder to pirate Nintendo Switch games once this new technology is implemented.

Denuvo by Irdeto, the global leader in providing security solutions for video games on desktop, console, and mobile platforms, has unveiled a new 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 4404 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 forums on Reddit 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.

Denuvo is at the forefront of game security with over 2 billion unique game installs protected across all platforms, and over 1,000 games secured.