So, DRM in video games is simple: You buy the digital rights to a game, and the platform of your choice manages those rights and everything that comes along with them. These features aren’t directly tied to managing your games or licenses, but they are afforded by restricting how games are distributed. Steam trading cards, PlayStation trophies, and Xbox gamerscores all owe a lot to DRM.
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Even if someone decided to upload all of the game files, the license check wouldn’t come back valid.Īlthough it’s easy to dismiss DRM as a restrictive anti-privacy measure, there are upsides. However, if the publisher launches the game with a DRM platform, there’s no way for buyers to share the game online.
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If a publisher released a PC game without DRM, for example, buyers could take the executable that installs the game and share it online. Without a DRM platform, you’d simply have access to whatever game you wanted to play, no matter how you got access to it. 2013’s Sim City showcases an extreme use of DRM, requiring an active internet connection for no clear reason. Thankfully, most publishers have backed off this tactic, especially after the disastrous launches of Diablo ’s Sim City. In extreme cases, DRM requires an active internet connection at all times. If it doesn’t find a license, the game doesn’t launch.
When you launch a game, the DRM platform checks for a license associated with your account, and if it finds a match, it launches the game.
It’s simply there to validate that you have a license for whatever game you purchased and want to play. The DRM doesn’t impact the game in any way. The PlayStation Store and Microsoft Store (formerly Xbox Marketplace) are DRM platforms.Īlthough there are DRM-free games - we’ll showcase a few marketplaces with such games below - the vast majority of digital games have DRM in one form or another.
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Whenever you buy a game on Steam, a license to download and play that game is added to your account, and you can take advantage of that license whenever you want. Rather, you’re buying a license to consume that content on a specific platform. Whenever you purchase some form of digital media, you usually aren’t actually buying the content. What is DRM, and how does it work in video games?ĭRM stands for digital rights management. Before getting to that, though, let’s start with a definition. In addition to giving you a rundown, we’ll also cover some of the risks and benefits of using a DRM platform, as well as the pros and cons of buying DRM-free games. In this guide, we’re going to cover everything you need to know about DRM in video games. But, what is DRM in video games? And more importantly, how does it work? Buying digital games is convenient and often cheaper, but it comes with one big caveat: DRM. The gaming industry is soaring in 2020, and a lot of the revenue stimulating the industry comes from digital game sales. Fitbit Versa 3įor the first time since the inception of gaming, digital game sales are starting to overtake physical sales.