pirates Archives

AppWizard

May 24, 2026

Great moments in PC gaming: Stealing and selling someone else’s treasure in Sea of Thieves

Sea of Thieves, developed by Rare and released in 2018, is a sandbox pirate adventure game that has evolved with new enemies, factions, systems, season passes, and cosmetics. Recently, players experienced a theft during their gameplay, where another crew stole one of their chests, highlighting the game's unpredictable nature. The thrill of piracy, including both stealing from others and being stolen from, remains a central theme in the game.

AppWizard

May 23, 2026

007: First Light drops last-minute Denuvo DRM bombshell, leaving pre-order customers and fans furious — Bond title risks FPS drops and strict online check-ins, Pirates eagerly await repack as day-one cracks become the norm

IO Interactive's game, 007: First Light, will include "Denuvo Anti-Tamper" DRM to protect against piracy on PC, leading to customer frustration among pre-order users. The Steam forums show mixed reactions, with some players disappointed and others appreciative of the DRM. Denuvo can impact frame rates and requires significant resources for integration, potentially affecting paying customers' experiences. It has been reported that Denuvo was cracked shortly after the launch of Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, raising concerns about its effectiveness. Denuvo operates in user space, not at the kernel level, and players may be locked out if their internet connection fails for over 48 hours. Developers face a paradox, as implementing DRM aims to maximize sales but may disadvantage legitimate customers. Alternative strategies exist, as seen with Cyberpunk 2077, which launched without DRM and became successful. A 2017 European Commission report suggested that piracy might increase overall sales, as some users who initially pirate games later become paying customers.

TrendTechie

May 21, 2026

007 First Light рискует оказаться на торрентах до официального релиза

The game 007 First Light is set to launch on May 27, but there are concerns about it being leaked onto torrent sites before its release. Players who pre-order the game can start playing 24 hours earlier than the general public, increasing the risk of piracy. Recent trends show an increase in fully functional pirated versions of major games appearing before their official launches, including titles like Pragmata and Death Stranding 2. There is no confirmed information about the use of the anti-piracy system Denuvo on Steam, and even with such protections, hackers have been able to bypass them. Factors contributing to early availability of game builds to hackers include failures in pre-loading systems and actions by reviewers. Even if a game avoids leaks initially, it is likely to be pirated eventually.

TrendTechie

May 13, 2026

Subnautica 2 утекла на торренты до релиза

Subnautica 2 was leaked on May 12, 48 hours before its early access launch on May 14, potentially originating from a reviewer with early access. This incident is similar to previous leaks of other major titles, but no statements have been made by the developers regarding the source of the leaks.

AppWizard

May 13, 2026

Forza Horizon 6 Leaked, Pirates Are Playing—$120 Early Access Users Are Still Waiting for Preload

The game files for Forza Horizon 6 leaked online on May 11, before the official release. The leak is believed to have originated from a user using a token dumper, possibly a reviewer. Playground Games, the developer, denied any involvement and clarified that the leak was not due to a preload issue. Players who purchased the Deluxe Edition are unable to preload the game ahead of its launch on May 19. Playground Games is enforcing strict actions against those accessing the leaked build, including potential bans. Some players are posting reviews based on the leak, while repackers are sharing versions of the game on forums. TechPowerUp is conducting a performance review of Forza Horizon 6, with results to be published on May 14.

AppWizard

May 12, 2026

20 years later, the world deserves another Sid Meier’s Railroads!

Sid Meier's Railroads!, released in 2006, is a strategy game that celebrates trains and embodies Sid Meier's game design philosophy. The game features an iconic exclamation point in its title, reflecting Meier's enthusiasm for diverse themes. Despite being "cruelly ignored upon release," it currently has 108 active players on Steam. The game allows players to navigate complex market dynamics through engaging gameplay mechanics, with AI that challenges players in single-player mode and a multiplayer experience that combines camaraderie and competition. However, it suffers from persistent routing bugs and lacks an intuitive level editor and fresh scenarios.

TrendTechie

May 11, 2026

Полная версия Forza Horizon 6 утекла на торренты за неделю до релиза

The complete working build of Forza Horizon 6 has been leaked on piracy platforms over a week before its official release on May 19, 2026, due to the developers' accidental publication of unencrypted preload files in the Steam database. The leak occurred on May 10, allowing users to access the game’s content and leading to the distribution of torrent files. The game requires 155.63 GB of free disk space for installation on Windows. Early access for premium edition owners was scheduled to start on May 15. Microsoft and Playground Games have not commented on the leak, which has become one of the largest gaming leaks of the year, with ongoing discussions in global forums.

AppWizard

May 9, 2026

Stellar Blade is the latest Denuvo game that has been cracked

Stellar Blade was cracked by the cracker known as ‘voices38,’ bypassing its Denuvo anti-tamper technology nearly a year after its release by Sony on PC in June 2025. Unlike typical practices, Sony has not removed the game from circulation. The voices38 crack bypasses Denuvo protections without altering the operating system, unlike the HYPERVISOR Bypass, which requires disabling certain Windows security features. Previous Denuvo cracks have allowed the technology to operate in the background. Legitimate owners of Stellar Blade face penalties while pirates access the game freely, raising questions about Denuvo's effectiveness. Other publishers, including Capcom, Square Enix, KRAFTON, NEOWIZ, Gearbox, Bethesda, Bandai Namco, and Warner Bros, have removed Denuvo from several of their titles.

AppWizard

April 29, 2026

Denuvo has been cracked in all single-player games it previously protected — 2K Games and Denuvo reportedly retaliate with mandatory 14-day online checks

The skull-and-bones community has declared that there are no games utilizing Denuvo that remain uncracked or bypassed. The MKDev collective and DenuvOwO developed a hypervisor-based bypass (HVB) in late 2025, which intercepts Denuvo's verification checks. The cracker voices38 successfully removed Denuvo from several titles, including Resident Evil: Requiem. Denuvo has since implemented a 14-day mandatory online check for certain games, complicating the HVB method. The latest version of HVB requires users to disable Core Isolation and Driver Signature Enforcement to run games. The community includes notable figures like repacker FitGirl, who has acknowledged the collaborative efforts of DenuvOwO and voices38.

AppWizard

April 28, 2026

Denuvo dealt major blow as crackers claim all non-VR games with the anti-tamper have been bypassed

Every non-VR game utilizing Denuvo DRM has been successfully compromised due to the emergence of the Hypervisor bypass, a method that deceives Denuvo into believing it is functioning correctly. This technique requires users to disable Driver Signature Enforcement, raising security concerns. The CrackWatch subreddit reports that all non-VR Denuvo games have been cracked or bypassed to some degree, with Capcom's Pragmata being completely bypassed just two days before its official launch. Cracking Denuvo within the first week of a game's release can lead to revenue losses of up to 20% for developers and publishers. Irdeto is actively developing updated security versions to address the Hypervisor bypass, assuring that these measures will not compromise game performance.