Doom Eternal received a big update a couple of days ago that pissed off several fans. The new update added Empowered Demons into the campaign, a prestige like system was made available for players that reached max level, and several gameplay adjustments were made to make players’ experiences a little better. This was all good, but the problem started with the new anti-cheat system.
The new Denuvo Anti-Cheat system was added in order to reduce cheating in the multiplayer. However, the new software works via a Kernel-mode driver. This is a big ‘No-No’ in the gaming community. Kernel drivers work at the core of an Operating System so it can control everything in the user’s PC. Unsurprisingly, this created some privacy concerns for several players. Several users also claimed performance loss after installing the new Anti-Cheat system.
Fans didn’t take this update lightly, and Doom Eternal has become a target of review bombing. Since May 14, the game has received over 5,900 negative reviews on Steam, with almost all complaining about the new anti-cheat.
Developers at Id assured the fans that the software doesn’t take screenshots of the PC and that it is only active during the duration of the game. The anti-cheat software can also be uninstalled via the “Add or remove programs” option. However, all of these assurances haven’t been enough.
This isn’t the first time that people have shown concern about a kernel-mode driver. The free-to-play multiplayer game Valorant is also equipped with an anti-cheat system that grants kernel-level access. Even that attracted a lot of criticism from the gaming community, with several users calling it a “Rootkit”.
Doom Eternal has been a very consumer-friendly game until now. It is incredibly optimized, offers a lengthy campaign, and has no microtransactions. The game received critical reception from both fans and critics, and some have even called it the best FPS game in years. Bethesda or Id Software needs to address this valid concern by the fans. They need to remove the current anti-cheat and adopt a less invasive replacement.
So what do you think? Do you agree with the players’ concerns? Do you think Id Software should adopt a different anti-cheat? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
