Will Starfield have DRM or Denuvo?

While many Starfield beginners may be doing their due diligence by reading up on early access guides and reviews now that the game’s come out for Premium Edition owners, others may be more worried about the game’s DRM. Notably, Bethesda has historically not been awfully shy about implementing Denuvo into its flagship releases, and it’s very possible that some people are worried about the DRM’s effects on in-game performance and other such things.

Bethesda and Arkane Studios’ Deathloop, for example, was plagued with performance issues that may or may not have been caused by Denuvo, and that game was far, far simpler and smaller than Starfield is. So, is Denuvo in Starfield? If not, what other forms of digital rights management should you be worried about?

Does Starfield have Denuvo?

While the notion that Denuvo affects game performance is still contested, this shouldn’t be a concern for Starfield players in the first place because Bethesda has chosen not to use it this time around! That’s right: Starfield does not have Denuvo, opting instead for a baseline, provisory DRM that comes by default with Steam and the Windows Store, depending on which version you’re going with.

Some, of course, may be concerned that Bethesda might choose to implement Denuvo later down the line. For example, Starfield is due to come out in full on September 6, and it’s not impossible that Bethesda would use this opportunity to shove Denuvo into Starfield. However, this is unlikely because Bethesda did something similar with Doom Eternal, and that move was not kindly received.

Moreover, a Denuvo-free version of Starfield is already out and about due to Premium Edition owners’ early access to the game. In other words, implementing Denuvo post-launch would be effectively useless, and it is highly unlikely to happen. Rejoice!