Voices38 has cracked Black Myth: Wukong’s Denuvo protection roughly 20 months after launch. The 25-million-copy RPG now joins Doom: The Dark Ages and Resident Evil Requiem as major Denuvo titles defeated in 2026.
Black Myth: Wukong’s Denuvo anti-tamper protection has been cracked by voices38, one of the most prolific figures in the piracy scene. Game Science’s action RPG, which launched in August 2024 and has sold over 25 million copies worldwide, held out for roughly 20 months before its DRM was bypassed. The crack was confirmed on April 28, 2026, making Wukong the third major Denuvo-protected title to fall this year, following Doom: The Dark Ages and Resident Evil Requiem.
Who Is Voices38 and How Was the Protection Broken?
Voices38 has emerged as the leading cracker of 2026, single-handedly dismantling Denuvo protection on titles spanning three consecutive release years. Doom: The Dark Ages (a 2025 title) was the first to fall, followed by Resident Evil Requiem (a 2026 title cracked just 41 days after launch). Black Myth: Wukong, released in 2024, completes what the CrackWatch community has called a “full sweep” of the Denuvo list.
According to DSOGaming’s analysis, voices38’s method differs significantly from the Hypervisor-based bypasses that dominated headlines earlier in 2026. The crack works like a traditional bypass: users simply drop the crack files into the game folder. There is no need to disable Secure Boot, modify Windows kernel security settings, or enter test-signing mode. The crack still technically bypasses Denuvo rather than removing it entirely, meaning the DRM code continues to run in the background, but the protection no longer blocks unauthorized copies from launching.
The Long Road to This Crack
Wukong’s Denuvo protection was tested multiple times before voices38 delivered the final blow. In October 2025, security researcher Maurice Heumann (momo5502) publicly demonstrated a successful bypass using Sogen and other open-source tools. However, Heumann chose not to release the crack publicly, citing safety and legal concerns. “I obviously don’t want any trouble,” Heumann explained on Reddit. “As a middle ground, I’m trying to disclose as much of my research as possible. All my tools are open source.”
In January 2026, a hacker known as 0xZeOn released a Hypervisor-based bypass that initially worked only on AMD processors before being updated for Intel CPUs. This method required users to disable Secure Boot and accept Windows running in test-signing mode, creating significant security vulnerabilities. Community reports on forums like ShiftDelete.Net described users encountering boot failures and conflicts with virtual machine software like BlueStacks.
The Hypervisor approach was then refined by another figure, KiriGiri, who cracked Borderlands 4, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Resident Evil Requiem (on its launch day) using similar virtualisation-layer techniques. KiriGiri later announced a temporary pause to develop a universal Denuvo-cracking tool that would work across all versions of the protection, a declaration that sent shockwaves through the publishing industry.
What Is Denuvo and Why Do Gamers Dislike It?
Denuvo Anti-Tamper, developed by Irdeto, is a DRM scheme that works differently from simple licence checks. It continuously encrypts and decrypts itself during gameplay, using unique authentication tokens tied to a player’s specific hardware configuration. This dynamic protection layer makes it extremely difficult for crackers to produce functional pirated copies, particularly during the critical first weeks of a game’s sales window.
The controversy around Denuvo centres on two main complaints. First, players and independent testers have argued that the constant background operations consume CPU cycles, leading to frame-rate drops, micro-stuttering, and longer loading times, particularly on mid-range hardware. Some tests have suggested performance degradation of up to 40% in specific titles. Second, even purely single-player games protected by Denuvo require periodic online validation. If authentication servers go down, or a player lacks stable internet access, they can be locked out of a game they legally purchased.
Irdeto has consistently denied that Denuvo impacts performance. The debate continues to be one of the most polarising topics in PC gaming.
Does Cracking a 25-Million-Copy Game Actually Hurt Sales?
Black Myth: Wukong is one of the fastest-selling games of all time. Developed by Game Science on a reported $70 million budget over six years, it sold 10 million copies in its first three days, 18 million within two weeks, and 20 million within a month. By January 2025, analyst firm Niko Partners estimated total sales had surpassed 25 million units. On Steam, the game peaked at over 2.2 million concurrent players, the highest ever for a single-player title on the platform.
Industry analysis suggests that DRM protection primarily defends the launch window. If a game’s protection holds for the first 6 to 12 weeks, the estimated revenue loss from piracy drops to around 5%. After 12 weeks, the financial impact approaches zero, as the vast majority of full-price purchases have already occurred. With Wukong cracked 20 months after release, the practical impact on Game Science’s revenue is expected to be negligible.
Will Game Science Remove Denuvo from Wukong?
Many major publishers have opted to remove Denuvo from their games after the protection window has passed. Capcom has stripped Denuvo from Resident Evil Village, Resident Evil 2 Remake, Resident Evil 3 Remake, Resident Evil 4 Remake, Monster Hunter Rise, and Kunitsu-Gami, among others. Square Enix removed it from Final Fantasy 16, Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake, and Forspoken. Bethesda dropped it from Doom Eternal and Wolfenstein: Youngblood.
Game Science has not yet announced any plans to remove Denuvo from Black Myth: Wukong. As DSOGaming noted, with the protection now cracked, there is little practical reason to keep it active. The studio is currently focused on developing Black Myth: Zhong Kui, the next entry in the Black Myth series, which was revealed at Gamescom 2025. Zhong Kui will tell a separate story centred on a different character from Chinese mythology, though Game Science has confirmed that Sun Wukong’s story will continue in future instalments.
Irdeto’s Response: New Security Measures on the Way
Irdeto, Denuvo’s parent company, has publicly acknowledged the Hypervisor threat. Company representative Daniel Buchegger confirmed that security updates are in development for games whose protection has been bypassed using Hypervisor methods. Buchegger stated that the new measures “will not affect performance,” though this claim has been met with scepticism from the gaming community given Denuvo’s history of performance controversies.
However, voices38’s success using non-Hypervisor methods complicates Irdeto’s defensive strategy. If traditional bypass techniques can also defeat the latest Denuvo versions, a Hypervisor-focused countermeasure alone may not be sufficient. The cat-and-mouse cycle between DRM developers and crackers appears far from over.
The Hypervisor Method Explained
The Hypervisor technique that dominated early 2026 works at a fundamentally different level than traditional reverse engineering. Instead of modifying the game’s executable directly, crackers use hardware-assisted virtualisation to operate below the operating system, at what is known as Ring -1. This virtual layer isolates and spoofs Denuvo’s security triggers at the deepest system level, making it nearly impossible for the DRM to detect that it is being analysed or manipulated.
The downside for users is significant. Hypervisor bypasses typically require disabling Secure Boot, entering Windows test-signing mode, and accepting conflicts with other virtualisation software. These steps expose the system to potential malware and create instability. Even prominent repack groups like FitGirl have warned users about the risks involved. Voices38’s traditional crack method avoids all of these requirements, which is likely to make it the preferred option in piracy circles.
Key Facts Players Should Know
- Price: Black Myth: Wukong is priced at $59.99 on Steam and has seen discounts of up to 25% during sales events.
- Platforms: Available on PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S (the Xbox version launched August 20, 2025).
- Language support: The game supports 14 languages including English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Turkish, and both Simplified and Traditional Chinese, with full audio and interface localisation.
- Next in the series: Black Myth: Zhong Kui is in development for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. No release date has been announced.
- Concurrent player record: 2.2 million concurrent players on Steam at peak, the highest for any single-player game on the platform.
What This Means for the DRM Debate
The cracking of Black Myth: Wukong reinforces a recurring pattern in the gaming industry: no DRM solution is permanent. Every major Denuvo-protected title has eventually been cracked, whether it takes weeks, months, or nearly two years. The question publishers face is not whether their protection will be broken, but whether it holds long enough to protect the revenue-critical launch period.
For Black Myth: Wukong, the answer is a clear yes. The game’s Denuvo held for 20 months, far exceeding the 12-week threshold after which piracy has negligible financial impact. Game Science reaped the full benefit of its launch protection. But the broader trend of 2026, with voices38 and others cracking titles faster and faster, suggests that future games may not enjoy such lengthy protection windows.
The real question for the industry may no longer be about building stronger walls, but about creating enough value through fair pricing, regular updates, and quality service that players choose to buy rather than pirate. With 25 million copies sold, Black Myth: Wukong is proof that a great game can thrive commercially even in an era where DRM is increasingly under siege.
If you are looking to buy or sell Steam accounts securely, GamerMarkt’s Steam account marketplace offers verified listings with escrow-protected transactions and 24/7 support.
