Capcom has silently eliminated a problematic DRM system called Enigma from the Steam edition of Resident Evil 4 Remake. Players highlighted severe performance drops after its February introduction, prompting the change. SteamDB records confirm the removal via an update on March 3, though Capcom issued no official statement.
Performance Issues Spark Reversal
Analysis indicates Enigma significantly hampered CPU usage, particularly in cutscenes on budget hardware. Digital Foundry analyst Alex Battaglia criticized the move: “Updating years-old software with new DRM is just stupid. Like, stop – don’t do that in the first place. Regardless of any possible performance degradations, what it’ll do to your game is just piss off your audience. It’ll make your modding scene really upset.”
Player Speculation on DRM Experiment
PC gamers express relief but question the initial addition. A Reddit user described Enigma as “DRM they added after release, as a public experimentation with a new, cheaper DRM. That DRM proved to be completely useless and detrimental, so they removed it. It’s not the first time they’ve done this with Enigma and this was just the latest public experiment.”
Another commenter worried: “I’m guessing they’ll add it back if they figure out how to avoid the huge performance drop it was causing.”
Recent data shows Resident Evil Requiem exceeding 5 million sales in under a week. The Resident Evil franchise has now sold over 183 million units worldwide as of December 31.
