Dead by Daylight developer Behaviour Interactive has just kicked off its first trial for DBD anti-cheat. There’s nothing more frustrating in multiplayer games than having your match ruined by someone who refuses to play fair, and the horror spectacular is no exception. Starting exclusively on Steam, these new anti-cheat trials are being conducted using a tool provided by Denuvo, but the developer is quick to clarify that this is completely separate from the company’s anti-piracy DRM, which will not be included.
“Starting today, we will be trialing Denuvo’s anti-cheat solution,” the Dead by Daylight team confirms. “Note that this does not and will not include anything related to DRM, as Denuvo anti-cheat is different from Denuvo anti-piracy.” DRM tools, which are used to prevent unauthorized access to games through ‘cracking,’ are often controversial, with reports that they can have a negative impact on performance. You can read our Denuvo explainer for more detail on why some players consider it a deal-breaker.
There will be no Denuvo DRM in Dead by Daylight, then. What you can expect during this ongoing trial is that you’ll be prompted to install Denuvo anti-cheat when you next launch DBD. “This is required to play the game,” Behaviour emphasizes. “We’re continuously testing the compatibility and performance of each anti-cheat provider to ensure you have a seamless experience. Compatibility with Steam Deck and Proton has been tested and will continue to be supported.”
The anti-cheat trial is exclusive to Steam, though Behaviour notes “cross-play will not be impacted.” It asks that players “continue to use the in-game report function as normal to report any cheaters you encounter.” If you’re able to provide more specific details about what you saw or suspect, whether it be wallhacks, speedhacks, teleporting players, or something else, that’s even better. If you have additional thoughts, the official DBD Discord is the place to give further feedback.
Once the anti-cheat trial ends, Behaviour will be automatically disabling Denuvo anti-cheat, and it will no longer run on your system. The developer also provides a detailed set of instructions if you want to make sure you remove it completely from your system after the DBD test is over.
This is just the first in a series of planned tests of several different anti-cheat solutions. Behaviour Interactive plans to follow it up with several more limited-time trials of other tools, testing their efficiency at catching troublemakers along with any potential impact on performance or the user experience, to find “a solution that works best for Dead by Daylight and for you, our community.”
