Civilization veterans refuse to play Civ 7 until the dev removes this controversial feature

Civilization 7’s early access dropped on Feb. 6, allowing players to jump into the strategy game and build their own empire. However, it seems like many fans of the franchise refuse to do so until one malware is deleted.

Civilization 7 is using Denuvo, a third-party anti-tamper software that’s been heavily criticized by hundreds of gamers in the past few years. Now, many of them are refraining from playing Firaxis Games’ latest title because of the software. The players set up a massive discussion about Denuvo’s involvement in Civ 7 on Steam in August 2024. Since the title launched, the thread is more active than ever, with players claiming they’re not buying the game because of it.

“I will buy their game when they remove Denuvo,” one comment reads. “Nothing much to say, I don’t like Denuvo, or any third party software ham-fisted into a video game,” another player wrote. Most comments in the thread are similar.

At first, it may seem like players are against Denuvo simply because it’s a third-party malware, but there’s more to it. Many of them have been complaining how the software tempers with performance. These players claim it forces high CPU and SSDs usage, naturally decreasing the performance and optimalization.

On the other hand, there have been a few individuals that defended Denuvo and Firaxis Games’ decision to include it in Civilization 7. Their main argument is protecting the game from piracy.

“I usually don’t care about this Denuvo conversation, but I do think it’s very clear they want to prevent any piracy of this game, partially because they’ve put such a high price on it,” one player wrote. “Honestly…when did the smart people become such paranoid snowflakes. Denuvo (or future alternatives) are clearly necessary in an age when AI can make writing hacking software very fast and adaptable. We obviously need an equally adaptable anti-tamper software,” another added.

Denuvo’s unlikely to be removed, especially since it’s almost a standard in the gaming industry nowadays. Dozens of games use this software, including Far Cry 6, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and Atomic Heart, just to name a few. If Civ 7 ends up making profit, complaints like these will likely stay irrelevant for the developer.

Civ 7 itself is currently gathering different reviews from players, with its current reviews on Steam sitting at “Mixed.” Many fans are praising the gameplay and how fun the game seems, but the majority of them also complain about the game’s UI and other questionable decisions, like narrow selection of map types.

We had a lot of fun with the game ourselves and liked many of the gameplay choices and changes, but there’s still space for improvement.