I don't see a threat about this here, but I also don't see a search function. If there is a thread, please point me to it and close this one.

Anyway, the Steam store page says that this game requires Denuvo DRM. I'm assuming that's a publisher decision. Still, the license agreement is quite ominous:

This Product may beprotected by anti-cheat/hacking software and/or Denuvo Anti-Tamper Protection Technology (“Denuvo Anti-Tamper Technology”). You hereby acknowledge and agree to the following regarding the Denuvo Anti-Tamper Technology:

the installation of the Product will cause the Denuvo Anti-Tamper Technology to be installed on your device;

the Denuvo Anti-Tamper Technology may limit the number of installations of the Product;

the Denuvo Anti-Tamper Technology may install on your device additional components required for copy protection;

during the installation and/or the first launch of the Product, an online connection may be required to activate the Product and the Denuvo Anti-Tamper Technology; and

certain files of the Denuvo Anti-Tamper Technology may remain even after the Product is uninstalled from your device.

In no event shall SEGA be liable to you in connection with the components that may be installed on your device relating to the Denuvo Anti-Tamper Technology.

Can we get some clarification on exactly what this DRM is going to do on our computers? How often do we need to be online? How strict is it about checking for hardware changes? Will it really leave files behind once I uninstall the game? Is it collecting any information? How can I be sure that it doesn't install additional files in the future? Is it running with elevated privileges and thus creating security problems, like so many past DRM solutions did? There have been many reports about this specific DRM causing performance problems, locking people out of playing the game because of an overclocked processor or a RAM upgrade or a re-install of Windows, and so on.

It's rather poor that SEGA won't take responsibility for any damage that this DRM solution causes, too.

Can we convince you not to ship this obsolete DRM with the game? I really don't want it on my system. 

Denuvo DRM is fairly common 3rd party implementation of copy-protection. What it aims to do is to delay piracy enough to drive sales up during the critical pre-order and immediate post-launch period. That's the publishers (SEGA) point of view and the actual devs may or may not have very little to say about it.

Now, for the negatives for you and me and other fellow pc-gamers. Running a game with it requires an online authentication at the first run and frequently there-after. So off-line mode for strictly single-player content is out of question. Denuvo drm also runs anti-tamper checks tied to various, pre-configured in-game actions. For example another game, Injustice 2 (which notoriously still includes it), executes a script every time a character jumps. Unless I remember wrong, this was discovered by inspecting real-time memory access. Technical stuff. Now, all this extra work consumes CPU time in the background and a poor implementations of Denuvo DRM has been known to cause stutters in select few games. But this is generally an exception.

For measurable downsides: 1) increased loading times due to bloated game footprint 2) possible caveat for hardware with weaker CPU.

This is the short and simple take on it. They added a notification on this drm around the delay was announced, although I doubt the two are connected. It still stinks for avid gamers like me who always wish for the best possible version of the product. I actively boycott Denuvo drm and only buy games without it or after it's been removed at a later date, the latter which has about 50/50 chance of happening. For more info on the effects on performance, see Overlord Gaming's channel on Youtube.

Edit: OP's post has a bunch of scary stuff that doesn't apply here. There won't be additional files outside the game folder, it won't require higher priviliges or cause security problems. And it certainly does not spy on you beyond DRM's purpose. Securom and Starforce are indeed the more invasive predecessors. Why people still hate Denuvo has more to do upholding principles

Sadly I just cancelled my preorder, this is the first time I will not buy a game from Amplitude studios. Personally it's my policy to never buy anything with Denuvo. As for the reasons why, it does have negative performance effect in most game where it were measured, even some developers complained about it.

I am very sad, but it looks like Humankind is not for me, at least not until Denuvo is removed and it looks like it will stay for a long time (If we look at last Total War from Sega).

This is incredibly disappointing.  DRM is ineffective and only punishes paying customers.  Please reconsider Amplitude.  Inclusion of Denuvo is enough to lose a lot of goodwill with me.

How do you go about requesting a refund if you pre-purchased via Steam? There's no clear link anywhere here or at Steam - not the I can see, anyway. I don't like this Denuvo thing and their get-out-of-jail-free EULA either.

*NVM - I found it, eventually. Nobody makes these actions easy... I, too, have requested a refund. 

I had no idea until now that Humankind is infected with this Denuvo DRM tech. No wonder people where complaining how bad it runs in some systems and one player said that on his older machine the difference between Cyberpunk 2077 and Humankind is that Humankind runs worse and with more resource consumption

Now to be completely honest you can`t put that tech in a game if the producing studio, namely Amplitude is not 100% on board. If they would not want that they would just turn to another publisher or went to a crowdfunding platform to get financed and so on

Such an unfortunate decision from these companies

koxsos wrote:

I am here to help with finding the search function!

The denuvo related posts seem currently on the rise although they do not neccesarily have it in the thread name, which is a shame.

For quick reference, here is a link to the other thread on Games2Gether that discusses Humankind and Denuvo.

GlorySign wrote:

I had no idea until now that Humankind is infected with this Denuvo DRM tech. No wonder people where complaining how bad it runs in some systems and one player said that on his older machine the difference between Cyberpunk 2077 and Humankind is that Humankind runs worse and with more resource consumption

Now to be completely honest you can`t put that tech in a game if the producing studio, namely Amplitude is not 100% on board. If they would not want that they would just turn to another publisher or went to a crowdfunding platform to get financed and so on

Such an unfortunate decision from these companies

I don't think Amplitude can find another publisher. They're actually a part of Sega now.

koxsos wrote:

I am here to help with finding the search function!

The denuvo related posts seem currently on the rise although they do not neccesarily have it in the thread name, which is a shame.

Thanks! I found it after I made this thread.

@SpikedWallMan: That other thread is actually newer than this one!

Kwami wrote:

I don't think Amplitude can find another publisher. They're actually a part of Sega now.

Thanks for the info, i had no idea that they are so deep into Sega. Are they fully acquired or partially independent?

They are fully acquired

Again, thank you for the info and the quick responses, good vibes to you guys. It saddens me to find out this. And than this also means they 100% wanted and agreed to get acquired by Sega and renounce their independence status by their own free will.

Sublustris wrote:

Probably wanted to expand their studio to make more ambitious games and keep creative freedom, but could not afford to pay the bills for that on their own.

Yes, Sega surely is in the expansion, helping and giving you all the creative freedom business as neutrals are expanded in our empire when we played the Poe Closed Beta :)))

At least in game neutral factions had no other choice

Sublustris wrote:

I'm not sure what nonsense you just spoke, but it sure is not related to what's being discussed.

It`s ok if you did not understood, I can rephrase what I said

I am sure that like you said companies want to expand in time but i don`t believe Sega is in the charity business of giving you what you want at their expense after they acquire you but it is more about making profit after you as you are now an acquisition of theirs.

So as an independent studio it is up to you to choose to sell yourself to Sega or someone else, remain independent or crowdfund your projects like other companies do sometimes with great success. No matter what you do you assume the consequences both good and bad that come out of your choices but at least you decided for yourself in what situation to be

And I was comparing that situation as a contrast to another random situation like playing the game Humankind where the neutral factions have no independent choice of their own in what to do when you as the player with your empire want to assimilate them. It`s totally a different situation to initially have a choice or never have one

It was just a thought and i hope it`s more clear now

Is there any chance that we will get a comment from the devs on this topic?  It would at least be nice to know if the Denuvo protection will be removed after the DRM has served its purpose of protecting hypothetical cash monies or whatever during the first few weeks after release.

Sublustris wrote:

I think they are legally obliged not to disclose that kind of information. If there are no information about when or if protection will be gone, then there will be more people that will buy the game, instead of waiting to pirate it (and I'm talking only about those kind of people here).

Maybe they are obligated to not discuss the matter, but maybe not.  I have no idea what sort of legal agreements they have on their side.  I don't think that disclosing their plans would affect the outcome though.  Those who don't plan to buy it probably still won't buy it and either wait or pirate something else.  If piracy is an option for these people then they've already decided that they don't want to pay for it - DRM or no DRM.

Actually, I could see Amplitude disclosing their plans to be advantageous for them.  If they do announce that the DRM will be removed after, say, 3 weeks then the DRM cracking community may ignore Humankind entirely because they don't think it's worth the effort since the DRM is going to be removed anyway.  So that may actually strengthen the protection during the period that the DRM is active.  (Or maybe not...  From what I have read about Denuvo and DRM in general, cracking DRM seems to be a challenge/game to some of them so there may be some who will still try.  It would weaken the incentive though.)

Oh, its got Denuvo, I'll just go then.

Edit - I'll check back in October

Look at today`s news: Might and Magic X: Legacy from 2014 made by Limbic/Ubisoft the latest from one of the most iconic RPG series ever made spanning over decades (Might and Magic 1 was released in 1986) had it`s DRM servers closed and because of the heavy DRM Ubisoft used in Might and Magic X, you can`t play it`s DLC anymore and also the players can`t progress past act 1 in the main game, making the game unusable. In response to the user`s cry for help because the game they own or just bought can`t be played anymore due to DRM servers closing, Ubisoft just pulled the game form Steam. This is what the future may also hold for Humankind or any DRM heavy game. Just search the internet about this topic and see for yourselves.