Is *Ace Combat 8* really skipping Denuvo? I’ll wait and see first.

Give it a 7. Because it’s still too early to pop the champagne over this, but the smell in the air has definitely changed.

SteamDB surfaced a new test record today related to Ace Combat 8: Wings of Sif, and the most critical part is that the developer later removed traces related to Denuvo testing, only for an even more eye-catching executable name to appear right after: “AceCombat8_NoDenuvo.exe”. That’s not just an ordinary slip of the hand. At the very least, it shows that Bandai Namco is indeed reassessing this DRM solution internally. For longtime players, this signal is more meaningful than blowing up a few extra planes in a trailer.

But don’t start cheering just yet. Bandai Namco has not officially announced that Ace Combat 8 definitely won’t use D encryption, and this likely won’t be fully revealed until close to release. And that’s exactly the issue: since last year, the company has clearly become active again in stuffing Denuvo into its own projects, with titles like Super Robot Wars Y and Code Vein 2 both on the list. So you’re saying it suddenly had a change of heart? As someone who’s been playing since the PS1 era, my first reaction is naturally: are you serious?

That said, this shift in direction is not without reason. Recently, there have already been cases where Denuvo was cracked instantly through the use of a hypervisor, which dealt a heavy blow to its reputation. Put bluntly, if the DRM can’t stop cracks and still manages to annoy legitimate players in the process, then its value is about the same as those old console games that awkwardly forced in a pointless online mode—very noticeable in presence, barely necessary in practice.

A game like Ace Combat should speak for itself through its flight feel, mission design, and aerial combat presentation—not rely on DRM as a gatekeeper. Longtime fans of the series all understand this: the appeal of this IP has never been “you can’t play it for now,” but rather “once you’re in the sky, you won’t want to come down.” If Ace Combat 8 really does end up shipping without Denuvo, then that will definitely be a plus for the PC player experience. At the very least, launch-day discussions would see half as many complaints about performance and background resource usage.

Looking at the bigger picture, this could also affect Bandai Namco’s plans going forward. The original report also mentioned that if Ace Combat 8 ultimately abandons Denuvo, then The Blood of Dawnwalker, also published by the company, will most likely not adopt this protection either. If that trend really takes hold, it will matter more than just one game skipping D. Because what players have found most annoying over the years is not merely the DRM itself, but the way publishers keep passing the cost of “anti-piracy” measures onto legitimate customers in the end.

So my suggestion is simple: wait and see, and don’t get moved too early. When release draws near, check the Steam page and the actual files first. If it’s ultimately confirmed to be D-free, add one more point; if it turns out to be nothing more than a testing smokescreen, don’t be surprised either. After all, these days publishers change direction more quickly than missiles turn in Ace Combat.