Cyberpunk 2077 Is Already Being Pirated
You shouldn't pirate the game for both legal and security reasons.
CD Projekt Red's eagerly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077 has been released, with its highest profile release being the PC version of the game. Reports show that the game has already hit torrent sites and is being pirated. Notebookcheck first reported the news.
Let's make the position of Tom's Hardware clear: pirating is bad. We don't condone it. You shouldn't do it. It also may put your PC at risk to malware. Instead, purchase a legal copy or wait for it to go on sale.
Cyberpunk 2077 was released on three platforms for the PC; Steam, Epic Games Store and GOG. The latter is owned by developer CD Projekt Red, and the biggest appeal of GOG is that they offer DRM-free versions of games; this is the version of the game that is floating around on the internet. Not having any form of DRM makes it fairly easy for those savvy enough to repackage them and distribute them across the internet, which is the very thing that's happening to Cyberpunk 2077 right now.
Both Steam and Epic Games Store act as the DRM for many games on their respective storefronts. You can't play games without logging into the services (except for a few). And sometimes, they also use other DRM such as Denuvo, which also tends to cause performance-related issues due to higher CPU demand. In some cases, it locks legit users out of games completely. This is why some developers eventually remove the DRM after a while.
Cyberpunk 2077 is currently available on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG), PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series and S, and Google Stadia, all of which are platforms to legally purchase the game.
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Keith Mitchell is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He is an IT professional during the day, and a passionate lover of video games and tech after his 9-5 grind. He has a weird affinity for Soulsborne games and plays them non-stop.
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Phaaze88 :pfff:Reply
It's already DRM-free(depending on which store the purchase was made), so what's the point... -
thepersonwithaface45 alright you've convinced me, I'll try to pirate it as it's always been my dream to be a man of the sea, and this article just made me buy a boatReply -
Makaveli Once I upgrade my GPU and the game get a few patches I will probably pick it up so i'm thinking March 2021Reply -
neojack in any case, it's a good incentive to buy the game on GOG. i mean, without denuvo, FPS will be higher.Reply -
salgado18 Pirating is bad and insecure. But it might work as a demo of sorts, since CDP said they won't make one. Can a PC run it? Is it really fun? Is it for me? Could serve a purpose, I guess. If you like what you get, then you know it's worth your money. (or ask for a refund, right?)Reply -
Shadowclash10 ReplyPhaaze88 said::pfff:
It's already DRM-free(depending on which store the purchase was made), so what's the point...
What's the point in buying from GOG to get DRM-free? Yeah, exactly. Cyberpunk is DRM-free on every storefront, IIRC. -
Phaaze88 Reply
Actually, Steam's and EGS's applications are a form of DRM themselves. They're just not as invasive as the likes of Denuvo and similar anti cheats.Shadowclash10 said:What's the point in buying from GOG to get DRM-free? Yeah, exactly. Cyberpunk is DRM-free on every storefront, IIRC.
I'm not sure about EA Origin and Ubisoft U-Play though. -
Shadowclash10 ReplyPhaaze88 said:Actually, Steam's and EGS's applications are a form of DRM themselves. They're just not as invasive as the likes of Denuvo and similar anti cheats.
I'm not sure about EA Origin and Ubisoft U-Play though.
Totally, but if it's truly DRM-free that means I should be able to launch it without Steam/EGS/x's application running. Which means that I can just give the game files away, basically. -
Phaaze88 Reply
You... wouldn't do that, would you?Shadowclash10 said:Which means that I can just give the game files away, basically.