Back 4 Blood has had Denuvo removed, years later

While Turtle Rock Studios isn’t making more content for its FPS zombie shooter Back 4 Blood, the Left 4 Dead-esque spiritual successor is still getting some attention. This is evidenced by the fact that not only has the game had a small update recently, but Denuvo has also been removed.

As noted on SteamDB, a change which occurred yesterday spells it out in black and white: “Removed 3rd-Party DRM,” referring specifically to Denuvo. The hugely unpopular anti-tamper software is often considered the bane of PC gaming. However, it feels weird that it’s been taken out of something that was released at the tail end of 2021.

At two and a half years old, and with just over 2,500 people currently playing at the time of writing, it feels a little late for Back 4 Blood to do away with DRM. While studios and publishers have been known to remove the offending software post-launch, it’s typically done a bit sooner. One recent example I can point to is Lies of P, which took Denuvo out just a few months after the game’s release.

As for the new patch it’s been referred to as a “minor game update,” and puts emphasis on some issues with the Easy Anti-Cheat system. Maybe this explains why Denuvo was removed entirely, but I’m speculating.

What could have been

Look, I’m just going to say it: I actually liked Back 4 Blood. I know it underdelivered what it initially promised, and it was pretty buggy on release, but it made me (sort of) rekindle my yearned-for Left 4 Dead days.

I feel it is a bit unfair to say the developer missed the mark entirely. Its four-player campaign mechanics, having random hordes of zombies (or The Ridden, as they were called), chance encounters with Special Infected enemies, and an emphasis on team-based combat were reminiscent of Valve’s legendary shooter.

It is a bit of a shame it didn’t quite pan out how we all hoped, but I like to think it was at least a valiant effort. Yeah, it had a frustrating difficulty curve and the AI companions left much to be desired, but I got a few months of joy out of it.

It’s also showing as “Mostly Positive” on Steam in terms of recent reviews, so it’s not all bad. It’s hard to say what Turtle Rock is working on next. All we can hope is the studio doesn’t overpromise on its next project. Don’t – for example – market it as the “next Half-Life” or something.