Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is a week away from release, and Saber has released a final roundup of details on the Steam blog. Alongside a global release time map (or technically two maps, because they're doing that pay-to-play-early nonsense), there's a big Q&A section covering all your burning questions about the nids. Among them is confirmation that the action game won't implement DRM software like Denuvo.
First, here's the global release map. The proper one, not the cheesy chart:
And here are a few selected sentences from the Q&A session:
- Will the game support cross-play and can this feature be turned off?
Yes, full cross-play between Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S players will be supported from day one.
You will be able to play Campaign and PvE modes without any restrictions; however, for fairness and balancing purposes, cross-play for PvP mode “Eternal War” will be split into two pools: PC players in one pool (Steam and EGS) and console players in the other pool (PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S).
You'll also have the option to disable crossplay if you prefer to only play with people who use the same platform as you.
- Are there any restrictions on which classes can be played in “Operations” mode (PvE)? What do you think of “Eternal War” (PvP)?
In “Operations” mode, you can only have one Space Marine of each class on your team. In “Eternal War” mode, there is a limit of two players per class and team.
There are no all-sniper teams, but you will have plenty of strategic variety!
- Will the game be playable on Steam Deck?
We are working on official Steam Deck support but it is not ready yet. We are currently targeting full Steam Deck support by the end of the year.
- Will the game have official mod support (e.g. NexusMods, mod.io)?
We currently have no plans for official mod support.
- What anti-cheat system is available?
On PC we will be using Easy Anti Cheat at launch.
- Does the game use DRM software (e.g. Denuvo…)?
NO.
Could the lack of DRM have something to do with the full game being leaked a few months ago? Probably. As is well known by now, piracy doesn’t directly result in lost sales anyway. Of course, Denuvo has a pretty bad reputation for negatively impacting performance. It’s possible that Saber just assumed that anyone who planned to pirate the game had already done so, and so avoiding the much-criticized DRM software was a win-win situation.
Whether DRM software (and Denuvo in particular) significantly impacts performance is a matter of debate. Denuvo owner Irdeto doesn’t think so. Last July, Video Games COO (a great title) Steve Huin vowed to prove that software wasn’t the problem. Speaking to Ars Technica , Huin outlined plans to provide “trusted media outlets” with two copies of a game—one with Denuvo, one without—to do their own testing.
I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I haven't found any evidence yet that it does. If you do, let me know and I'll update the article. There's compelling evidence that Denuvo actually makes games run worse – including Digital Foundry's own tests with a cracked version of Resident Evil: Village – but there's also evidence to the contrary.
What crazy post-truth times we live in! There are really only two things you can trust in this world: the delicious taste of Biscoff spread and the guiding light of Ian E. Mporer, Emperor of Mankind. Oh, and maybe Saber's line on microtransactions too, since they're sticking to a 'cosmetics only' approach to optional purchases.