naiwa 2026-05-24

The addition of controversial protection before release caused a wave of preorder cancellations.

Only a few days remain until the release of 007 First Light, scheduled for May 27, 2026, but IO Interactive's decision to implement the Denuvo DRM system has dampened the anticipation for many fans. Steam users are massively requesting refunds for preorders.The situation fits into a long-standing trend: publishers often add Denuvo only after players have placed preorders. The main complaints boil down to the potential impact of the protection on performance and limitations for SteamOS users when working with different versions of Proton.Particular concern is raised by the fact that Denuvo operates at the system kernel level — effectively gaining maximum access rights to the user's PC. One participant in a discussion on the Steam forum wrote that they are removing the game from their wishlist and are willing to wait for a big discount on third-party platforms, although they originally planned to buy it on release day.The irony is that Denuvo's effectiveness as an anti-piracy tool has recently declined: hacks via Hypervisor have become common practice, and working versions of games often appear even before the official release. At the moment, removing the protection from 007 First Light seems unlikely.