Fairly long post incoming. TL;DR - We are getting "Denuvo Anti-Tamper" with Civ 7, which does NOT get installed at the kernel level. It's just something that is integrated with the exe to obfuscate piracy and cracking attempts.
I get that Denuvo can be an emotional topic for some people and it's a deal breaker for them. It's a hot-button topic (go see how many games get review bombed on Steam for it) but the waters are muddied by a lot of exaggeration and misinformation. In my opinion that's an overreaction. Maybe it would be helpful to give a different perspective. I hope this point of view can assuage some concerns.
1. What is Denuvo?
Denuvo Anti-Tamper is an anti-piracy digital rights management (DRM) tool. It's been around for about a decade. It is used chiefly to prevent piracy. The "Anti-Cheat" version is used to monitor for stuff like aimbots in multiplayer games--that is what gets kernel access. Otherwise, Denuvo is used to prevent piracy, and it does a pretty good job at it. Most games do eventually get cracked, but Denuvo significantly delays successful cracking in most cases and helps preserve sales.
Civ 6 had a massive piracy problem, so I am not at all surprised to see Denuvo implemented for Civ 7.
2. How common is Denuvo?
Denuvo Anti-Tamper is
very common, because it works well to prevent piracy. If you have been playing games from major publishers like Capcom, EA, Square Enix, and 2K, chances are you have been playing games with Denuvo already.
Some recent and upcoming AAA games with Denuvo include Black Myth Wukong, Final Fantasy XVI, Dragon's Dogma 2, Mortal Kombat I, etc. It's not just limited to AAA games either. Indie or indie-adjacent games like Tavern Keeper also use it.
3. Are we getting Denuvo at the kernel level in Civ 7?
NO. The OP posted a screenshot from Irdeto's website acknowledging kernal access (Denuvo's developer). He's right, and Denuvo makes no attempt to hide this, but what the OP did not clarify by showing the rest of the page is that this is for
Denuvo Anti-Cheat, not Anti-Tamper. Denuvo Anti-Tamper is what is implemented in Civ 7.
Discover Irdeto's innovative solutions tailored for the video game industry, enhancing security, player engagement, and overall gaming experiences.
irdeto.com
Read for yourself about how it's used and why. It's really not that scary, but it's moot since we're not getting it.
4. What's the kernel controversy with Denuvo? (Moot for Civ 7 anyway)
The "Anti-Cheat" product uses kernel level access for a variety of reasons, all of which are explained at the link above. People assume that means they're opening themselves up to malicious access and other scary terms, but there's a lot of misinformation and overexaggeration. Kernel access can be the safest way to implement anti-cheat actually--otherwise the program could stream from the web which if compromised could be a significant vector of attack for maliicous actors.
To put it another way, intent and implementation matter. Your mouse driver has kernel level access, but no one would call your mouse a rootkit. Anyway, this is irrelevant because we're not getting Denuvo Anti-Cheat.
By the way, I will point out that kernel level access is not required to do damage. There is a possibility for every single program you install to hurt your PC. There are games without Denuvo that have erased peoples' PCs.
5. How is Denuvo Anti-Tamper (Civ 7's version) installed?
It's not "installed" on your computer. It lives as part of the Civ 7 executable file. There is no known privacy or access risk with this.
6. Is there other controversy with Denuvo?
Some say both versions (Anti-Tamper and Anti-Cheat) impact performance. I've never noticed this, but it could be a concern. It's game-specific, and more associated with Anti-Cheat (which again, we are not getting).
