Denuvo reportedly adds mandatory 14-day online checks after pirates bypass single-player game DRM

It has been reported that pirates have successfully cracked the controversial Denuvo DRM for single-player games, leading the company and 2K to add a mandatory 14-day online check to some games.

The details:

• In late 2025, hackers announced that they had found a bypass for Denuvo’s security checks by installing a driver in the kernel. Due to this bypass, pirates have been able to release DRM-free versions of Denuvo-protected games much faster after their official launch, sometimes as early as release day.
• According to Tom’s Hardware, Denuvo and 2K are now fighting back against the hackers, introducing a new check that forces several of its games, such as NBA 2K26 and Marvel’s Midnight Suns, to ping official Denuvo servers. Once the check is complete, the copy of the game is handed as a 14-day token that confirms that it is legitimate, but once the two-week period ends, the game must once again contact the server.
• The online check has now put another roadblock in place for pirates, as the current kernel-level bypass method no longer works for select titles and will likely be used for future Denuvo-protected games. However, it has also highlighted issues regarding preservation, as players will now be required to rely on Denuvo’s servers every 14 days in order to play offline.