According to a study by William M. Volckmann II from the University of North Carolina, we have received an insight into the financial consequences of digital rights management (DRM) breaches in the PC gaming industry. The research, titled "The Revenue Effects of Denuvo Digital Rights Management on PC Video Games," offers valuable insights into the relationship between piracy and game sales. The study's most striking finding reveals that when Denuvo, a popular anti-piracy technology, is quickly compromised, game publishers face an average revenue decline of 20%. Interestingly, the research suggests that long-term DRM implementation may be unnecessary. Volckmann's analysis indicates that games cracked after the first three months of release or those from which publishers voluntarily removed DRM protection after this period experienced negligible revenue loss.

The study also explored potential predictors for quick DRM breaches but found no conclusive indicators based on game characteristics. This unpredictability poses a challenge for publishers in assessing the risk of piracy for individual titles. Volckmann acknowledges gamers' concerns about DRM's technical drawbacks, recommending that publishers consider removing such protections after the critical initial three-month window. This approach could balance piracy prevention with user experience optimization. The findings present a compelling case for publishers to reconsider their DRM strategies. While protecting games during the launch period remains crucial, extended DRM usage may offer diminishing returns.

During the CES 2024 international show, Wacom, one of the leaders in the digital design space, unveiled the new Wacom Cintiq Pro and Wacom One tablets. The company also showcased its digital rights management software, Yuify, and introduced Wacom Bridge, a tool designed to enhance remote collaborative workflows for studios. The new Wacom Cintiq Pro line, including the Pro 27, 22, and 17, was developed in collaboration with professionals in virtual production, VFX, CG, and animation. The latest Wacom Cintiq Pro 27, with its precision and best-in-class color fidelity, is poised to take virtual production workflows to the next level. Color accuracy is crucial in virtual production workflows, and the Wacom Cintiq Pro 27 delivers 100% Rec. 709 and 98% DCI-P3 color accuracy. Its 4K display, with 10-bit color, offers high color performance and calibration options, reducing the traditional setup footprint without compromising performance.

The new Wacom Pro Pen 3, redesigned for ergonomic comfort and customization, complements the Cintiq Pro 27's eight Express Keys and multi-touch screen, offering a harmonious workflow. Wacom Bridge, developed in partnership with AWS NICE DCV and Splashtop, is a technology solution that enhances the use of Wacom products on supported remote desktop connections, catering to the needs of remote and hybrid work environments. The Wacom One line, first launched in 2019, has been redesigned and upgraded, offering more options and customization opportunities. The line includes the Wacom One 13 and 12 displays and the Wacom One Medium and Small pen tablets. Finally, Wacom's commitment to protecting artists' work is embodied in "Yuify", a service that allows artists to protect their artwork, manage usage rights, and establish legally binding license permissions. This digital rights management platform enables creators to conveniently manage their authorship records and sign licenses and contracts.

Irdeto is the current owner of Denuvo Software Solutions—the Austrian development team behind the infamous anti-tamper technology and digital rights management (DRM) system. According to Ars Technica neither of these organizations have made great efforts (in the past) to engage in discussion about the controversial anti-piracy and anti-cheat suites—but Steeve Huin, Irdeto's Chief Operating Officer of Video Games—agreed to grant the publication an exclusive interview. The article is titled "Denuvo wants to convince you its DRM isn't evil," which sums up a lot of the public perception regarding Denuvo technologies—having received plenty of flak for high CPU usage and causing excessive activity within storage components. Some users propose that the latter scenario has resulted in shorter lifespans for their solid-state drives. Ars Technica has a long history of Denuvo-related coverage, so a company representative has been sent in for some damage control.

Off the bat, Huin acknowledges that he and his colleagues are aware of Denuvo's reputation: "In the pirating/cracking community, we're seen as evil because we're helping DRM exist and we're ensuring people make money out of games." He considers the technology to be a positive force: "Anti-piracy technologies is to the benefit of the game publishers, [but also] is of benefit to the players in that it protects the [publisher's] investment and it means the publishers can then invest in the next game...But people typically don't think enough of that...Whether people want to believe it or not, we are all gamers, we love gaming, we love being part of it. We develop technologies with the intent to make the industry better and stronger."

Rice University and Duke University are the latest in a long line of educational institutions to fund research on the effect of using restrictive Digital Rights Management (DRM) to try and control levels of so-called "piracy", which is allegedly reducing sales of content-only, infinite goods/virtual products, such as music, movies, computer games and books. (Some observers writing about DRM replace the word "Rights", giving us the phrase Digital Restrictions Management, which seems a more accurate description of what it's really about and removes the veneer of legitimacy from it. When buying DRM'd content, you are buying digital handcuffs, nothing more, nothing less.) The universities sponsored a study called Music Downloads and the Flip Side of Digital Rights Management Protection and what it found is that contrary to popular belief amongst the big content companies, removing DRM can actually decrease levels of piracy and increase sales. The fact is that DRM is always broken by hackers and pretty quickly too, often within a day or two (there isn't a single one still standing) leaving legal users who work within its confinements with all the restrictive hassles that it imposes, while the pirates get an unencumbered product to do with as they please. How is this progress?