Bethesda apparently broke its own Denuvo protection for Doom Eternal

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  *Insert Tarzan scream*

When Bethesda announced that Doom Eternal would be using Denuvo protection for its digital rights management, industry watchers assumed it would buy the game at least a short period of retail availability without a piratable "cracked" version showing up on the Internet. When the game launched, though, users quickly discovered the Bethesda Launcher version apparently included a DRM-free copy of the game's executable sitting in plain sight amid the download package.

Forum users on Reddit and ResetEra were among the first yesterday to report on the "official" DRM-free leak, which sat in a sub-folder titled "Original" for the Bethesda Launcher version of the game. That 67MB file can reportedly replace the 370MB, DRM-protected executable in the main game folder with minimal effort and no practical effect on playability.

Ars has been unable to independently verify these reports, as a subsequent patch has apparently removed the DRM-free executable. But the trackers at CrackWatch and repackers in the cracking community have confirmed that the DRM-free version was distributed and working shortly after launch. And while the DRM-free version still requires a Bethesda account login the first time it's run, forum reports suggest crackers have already discovered a simple method to patch that check for a completely offline pirated experience.

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