Some Games Won't Run on Intel's New CPUs Due to DRM
Owners of a sizeable collection of older games should approach the new generation of Alder Lake-S CPUs with caution. DRM software may have problems with Intel's upcoming chips.
- Alder Lake-S hybrid CPUs may not work with current versions of DRM software;
- Intel leaves the problem to the developers to solve - will updates be required?
Intel has published a developer guide for the new generation of Alder Lake-S processors. Gamers too will find something relevant and, sadly, disturbing. It turns out that the hybrid chip design can cause problems for DRM solutions used in games. This applies to older and newer productions containing, for example Denuvo. To run them on Alder Lake (ADL), they may need updates.
"If your existing or upcoming game uses a DRM middleware, you might want to contact the middleware provider and confirm that it supports hybrid architectures in general, and the upcoming Intel ADL platform in particular. Due to the nature of modern DRM algorithms, it might use CPU detection, and should be aware of the upcoming hybrid platforms. Intel is working with leading DRM providers such as Denuvo* to make sure their solutions support new platforms," writes Intel.
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Future games should have newer versions of DRM systems that won't have problems with Intel's hybrid processor architecture. But what about titles already available on the market? In the case of relatively fresh ones, we can expact an update from the developer that will introduce a new version of Intel ALD-compatible security features or remove the DRM completely.
Older titles, on the other hand... well, there may be a problem with them. Many of them, despite their age, have DRMs, which simply stop working and their creators no longer support them. Of course, there's still plenty of powerful Intel processors available, which may be a more reasonable choice for owners of older games.
