Compare Revisions

1-007 First Light's PC release uses Denuvo Anti-Tamper DRM. IO Interactive added Denuvo to the Steam store page on May 21, 2026, six days before the May 27 launch. The addition was made midway through the marketing cycle rather than being announced at the start, which drew player pushback and a small wave of refund requests. The DRM does not affect console versions.
1+007 First Light's PC release shipped with Denuvo Anti-Tamper DRM. IO Interactive removed the DRM from the PC build on July 24, 2026, the same day Game Update 1.1.0 released. IO Interactive added Denuvo to the Steam store page on May 21, 2026, six days before the May 27 launch. The addition was made midway through the marketing cycle rather than being announced at the start, which drew player pushback and a small wave of refund requests. The DRM does not affect console versions.
22  
33 Timeline
44  
5-DateEventPre-May 21, 2026Steam store page did not list Denuvo Anti-TamperMay 21, 2026Steam page updated to list Denuvo Anti-Tamper; coverage breaks across PC outletsMay 21-26, 2026Pre-order refund window for the addition (Steam refund policy honored for affected purchases)May 26, 202624-hour early access begins for Deluxe and higher editionsMay 27, 2026Standard launch with Denuvo active
5+DateEventPre-May 21, 2026Steam store page did not list Denuvo Anti-TamperMay 21, 2026Steam page updated to list Denuvo Anti-Tamper; coverage breaks across PC outletsMay 21-26, 2026Pre-order refund window for the addition (Steam refund policy honored for affected purchases)May 26, 202624-hour early access begins for Deluxe and higher editionsMay 27, 2026Standard launch with Denuvo activeJuly 24, 2026Denuvo Anti-Tamper removed from the PC build; the Steam store page no longer lists a DRM notice
6-How It Behaves
6+How It Behaved While Active
77  
88 Online check at first launch. Steam clients must complete an online validation handshake the first time the game runs. Players should be connected to the internet for the initial unlock window.Periodic online re-validation. After the first launch, Denuvo performs periodic online checks. Reports describe a window in the range of 48 hours between checks; the exact value has not been confirmed by IO Interactive.Offline play between checks. Once an initial check has succeeded, the game can be launched offline until the next periodic check is due.No always-online requirement. There is no always-online requirement during single-player play. Online checks are bursty rather than continuous.
99  
1010 Why It Matters
1111  
1212 Denuvo is a kernel-level anti-tamper system that some players consider intrusive on a single-player title. IO Interactive previously removed Denuvo from Hitman 1 and Hitman 2 after launch and shipped HITMAN World of Assassination without it. The 007 First Light addition is therefore a reversal of recent IO practice, which is why coverage focused on the precedent.
1313  
1414 Refund Policy
1515  
1616 Steam honored refund requests filed in the days between the Denuvo addition and launch under its standard refund policy (two-hour playtime, fourteen-day ownership window). Players who pre-ordered before May 21 had a reasonable window to request a refund if they objected to the change.
1717  
1818 Console Versions
1919  
2020 Denuvo is a PC-specific anti-tamper layer. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions do not use Denuvo. Both consoles rely on their respective platform's standard DRM and license checks. The Nintendo Switch 2 version, planned for Summer 2026, is also expected to ship without Denuvo.
2121  
2222 Reception of the Decision
2323  
2424 Player reaction skewed negative in the days following the announcement. Common criticisms were that the addition came late in the marketing cycle (after most pre-orders had already been placed), that the previous IO Interactive position on Denuvo set an opposite expectation, and that the periodic online check is unnecessary for a single-player game. Defenders pointed to the operational reality of high-profile launch protections and the practical fact that DRM does not block offline play between checks.
2525  
26+Removal
27+ 
28+Denuvo lasted just under two months in the shipped game. On July 24, 2026, the same day Game Update 1.1.0 released, the Denuvo notice disappeared from the game's Steam store page and the DRM was confirmed stripped from the PC build. The removal restored IO Interactive's earlier pattern: the studio also removed Denuvo from Hitman 1 and Hitman 2 after their launches.
29+ 
30+With the DRM gone, the periodic online validation checks described above no longer apply. Three days later, on July 27, 2026, the game was granted Steam Deck Verified status.
31+ 
2632 Related Articles
2733  
2834 PC System RequirementsDay One PatchLaunch and Preload Schedule