Irdeto, the firm that owns the Denuvo DRM, has launched a new solution called TraceMark to crack down against high-profile game leaks. The announcement came at GDC 2024, where Irdeto revealed that they are coming up with a new platform to combat leakers in the industry, showing the “TraceMark For Games” watermark technology that allows developers to ensure their game’s privacy.
Irdeto says that TraceMark allows developers to assign something distinctive to its game files, and in this case, it is a watermark, which is something unique and invisible to others. This watermark will allow developers to trace the origin of the respective leak, allowing them to crack down against it easily and ultimately put the act to a halt. Irdeto has emphasized the use case of TraceMark in crucial stages of game development, such as “beta testing” and review periods for content creators, ensuring a safe distribution of copies.
Irdeto SVP of New Markets Niels Haverkorn said in a statement:
With the launch of TraceMark for Gaming, we are setting a new standard in anti-piracy for the gaming industry. This innovative solution not only marks a significant milestone for Irdeto but also represents a leap forward in protecting the creative and financial investments of game developers worldwide.
At Irdeto, we understand the unique challenges faced by the gaming community, and TraceMark is our commitment to ensuring that these valuable assets are safeguarded throughout their lifecycle. We are excited to see the positive impact this will have on the industry.
The release of TraceMark is certainly something big for game developers since pre-release leaks have been a great source of trouble. Not only can they damage the launch hype, but they also result in complete disruption in the development plan. We certainly do hope that TraceMark doesn’t end up like Denuvo’s DRM, which has occasionally been a pain for PC gamers, causing performance drops in some cases, but we will have to wait and see once it is actually implemented in games.
