Following controversy earlier last year around a very risqué Street Fighter 6 mod that was accidentally broadcast during an online tournament between Europe’s top players, Capcom has been on something of a warpath against all modding of its games. This has been going on for some time, but until recently, there was no evidence of the new “Enigma” DRM being patched into Capcom games fundamentally breaking compatibility or even mods — until now.
As reflected in the official patch notes for Ver.16.0.2.0 of Monster Hunter: Rise on Steam, Capcom’s latest addition of Enigma DRM (2 years after its PC launch with Denuvo DRM) has successfully broken game compatibility for paying customers, particularly Steam Deck users. Despite the game’s Verified status (which was well-earned previously), the title now fails to run on Valve’s handheld entirely.
So what about those accursed mods? Well, according to FluffyQuack, developer of the Fluffy Mod Manager used by nearly every modern Capcom game, most Monster Hunter: Rise mods still work just fine. You see, unpaid fans are actually pretty good at making sure their favorite game modifications work, especially when those mods are required to have a good experience on the PC platform.
One relatively recent Capcom game on PC still stands out as an example of a game that needs mods to be on par with its console counterparts: Devil May Cry 5.
Devil May Cry 5 was originally released on PC and console back in March 2019, but received a Special Edition re-release for PS5 and Xbox Series S/X with the launch of those consoles that added back fan-favorite modes and features from previous games, as well as real-time ray-tracing support.
Bafflingly, the PC version of DMC5 never received the Special Edition updates, despite PC hardware obviously being better-suited for its new ray tracing features. DMC5 modders can’t exactly replicate that (though they can try with SSGI), but all other Special Edition features have long been restored on PC— some before Special Edition was even announced!
Perhaps instead of going out of its way to punish its happily-paying customers on the PC platform with invasive new DRM, Capcom could focus on keeping a positive relationship with its most dedicated fans. As things are now, Capcom seems intent on making sure that pirates are the ones who have the best experience with their games— adding new DRM this long after launch mostly just feels like misdirected spite aimed at Capcom’s own paying customers.
