There was a point back in 2016 when Denuvo was seen as the beginning of the end for game cracks. Its combination of online authentication and encryption proved too tough for cracking groups initially. But that has changed to the point where Denuvo is now on the verge of being completely useless.
As Dark Side of Gaming reports, Middle-earth: Shadow of War shipped with Denuvo protection enabled. It took less than 24 hours for the protection to be cracked.
Eurogamer points out the time taken to crack Denuvo has been steadily falling. Mass Effect: Andromeda took 10 days, Sonic Mania took 8 days, Resident Evil 7 took 7 days, Rime took 5 days, and FIFA 18 and Total War: Warhammer 2 mirrored Shadow of War with a one day crack.
Denuvo is hated by gamers because of the online authentication it demands and the uncertainty it poses for the future. Will a game protected by Denuvo today still work two years from now? What about in five years? If the Denuvo authentication server is turned off, then the answer is probably "no" unless the publisher removes the check.
If there is evidence proving DRM stops game piracy I have yet to see it. The fact Denuvo no longer works will hopefully mean it stops being used. If Denuvo could react to the quickly falling crack times it would have by now so as to maintain its reputation. It may still do so, but at best it is simply delaying the inevitable again.
Game publishers and developers need to accept that their games are going to be pirated regardless of the protection used to try and stop it. Stop frustrating your paying customers with DRM and use the money saved not licensing it to make games even better and therefore more likely to be legally purchased.