A report has indicated that the removal of DRM from Resident Evil Village on PC has drastically improved the title’s overall performance. Of course, this is a cracked version of the game, meaning paying customers are not getting the best for their money.
Digital Foundry conducted tests on both the retail and cracked versions of Resident Evil Village, ending with a conclusion that the game’s anti-piracy features are causing the performance issues on PC. Since its launch, Village has had problems with frame rates, resulting in stutters during regular gameplay (such as shooting). These issues are worse at certain points, like an early encounter with Lady Dimitrescu’s daughters. The frame rate can plummet from the upper 100s down to the low 30s.
The cracked version of the game shows no sign of these problems, and even cleans up many of the minor stutters the game frequently spits out. According to information gathered by Digital Foundry, the community behind the crack has stated this is down to Capcom’s additional work on top of the DRM software. The community members suggest that the game is making unnecessary calls to your PC for info, alongside Steam’s API calls as players continue to progress achievements.
The crack removes both Denuvo (DRM) and the reliance on Steam, so it’s unclear what’s exactly at fault for the issues. These problems have persisted since the game’s launch back in April, but Capcom hasn’t released a patch for PC since its launch.