Video game piracy is a disaster for studios, this new study proves it

A study has just lifted the veil on the real impact of piracy in the video game industry. According to the work of researcher William Volckmann of the University of North Carolina, published in the journal Entertainment Computing, piracy can reduce a game’s revenue by up to 20% during its crucial launch period.

The study, which focused on 86 games protected by the Denuvo anti-piracy system between 2014 and 2022, finally provides concrete data on a long-debated subject. The results are particularly enlightening: When a game is pirated in its first week on the market, it loses around 20% of its potential revenue.

However, the impact of piracy diminishes significantly over time. A game that crashes six weeks after release only loses about 5% of its total revenue. This observation also confirms the capital importance of the first weeks of marketing, the period during which the majority of sales are made.

Cracked video games represent a huge loss of income

The methodology of the study is particularly interesting. Volckmann used the time when Denuvo protection was cracked as a reference point, comparing sales before and after the hack. This approach makes it possible to observe the direct impact of piracy on publishers’ revenues.

Thanks to Denuvo, the majority of games protected by this system remain inviolate for the first 12 weeks following their release, crucial period for sales. In 2024, out of 28 games using Denuvo, 26 have still not been hacked.

These findings could significantly influence publishers’ strategies. Robert Hernandez, vice president of sales at Denuvo, says: “ Our goal is not to create a tamper-proof system, but to protect games during their initial launch window “.

The study therefore brings a first conclusion to the debate on the real impact of piracy, long minimized by some and exaggerated by others, but we will obviously have to wait for other studies to have a better overview of the consequences of piracy. It also suggests that publishers can remove their anti-piracy protections after 12 weeks without significant impact on their revenue. Denuvo is known to lower the performance of certain titles. Removing it afterwards would therefore allow players to enjoy a better experience for as long as possible.