The performance impact Denuvo is known for is not due to the license checks, it is due to running parts of the game in a custom vm. Hogwarts Legacy is new enough that they might be taking a different approach entirely after the whole vmprotect controversy
Denuvo protected games only let some functions go through that VM and typically not functions invoked every frame. Only when you screw up as a developer and hook the wrong thing will performance suffer.
On the other hand, functions that go through the VM messes with the Branch Predictor and increases Cache Miss, which affects anything that runs after (for a short period tho, depending on how often it runs).
You can argue that a good developer will configure Denuvo to only "compile" functions where those side effects doesn't matter (like after loading screens, during cutscenes, when the game is paused, etc). However, I've seen so many stupid mistakes in this industry that I would never trust the experience and skill of said developers, unless I can asses it myself by working on a daily basis with them.
Only when you screw up as a developer do games run below 144 fps on modern hardware. And yet most don't. This isn't a valid argument. Most games do not implement denuvo in a way that performance is magically unaffected
I thought the latest Doom was released "accidentally" without the DRM[0]. Not the first time the studio forgot to properly bake the DRM into the final product.
Comments
The performance impact Denuvo is known for is not due to the license checks, it is due to running parts of the game in a custom vm. Hogwarts Legacy is new enough that they might be taking a different approach entirely after the whole vmprotect controversy
Denuvo protected games only let some functions go through that VM and typically not functions invoked every frame. Only when you screw up as a developer and hook the wrong thing will performance suffer.
On the other hand, functions that go through the VM messes with the Branch Predictor and increases Cache Miss, which affects anything that runs after (for a short period tho, depending on how often it runs).
You can argue that a good developer will configure Denuvo to only "compile" functions where those side effects doesn't matter (like after loading screens, during cutscenes, when the game is paused, etc). However, I've seen so many stupid mistakes in this industry that I would never trust the experience and skill of said developers, unless I can asses it myself by working on a daily basis with them.
Only when you screw up as a developer do games run below 144 fps on modern hardware. And yet most don't. This isn't a valid argument. Most games do not implement denuvo in a way that performance is magically unaffected
I thought the latest Doom was released "accidentally" without the DRM[0]. Not the first time the studio forgot to properly bake the DRM into the final product.
[0] https://www.pcgamer.com/bethesda-accidentally-left-a-denuvo-...