Capcom has removed the Enigma Protector DRM from the PC version of Resident Evil 4 remake on Steam, just 28 days after adding it. The change followed reports of performance issues that affected frame rates and CPU usage. The game now lists no DRM on its Steam page.
In early February, specifically on February 3, Capcom updated the 2023 Resident Evil 4 remake on Steam, replacing the existing Denuvo DRM with Enigma Protector. This switch, made without prior announcement, quickly led to player complaints about degraded performance. Users reported noticeable drops in frame rates, particularly during intense action sequences.
Testing by YouTuber ItalicMaze, who used a mod to revert to the previous version, highlighted significant FPS reductions with Enigma enabled. Digital Foundry's analysis corroborated these findings, noting a roughly 20 percent drop in performance in some scenarios and a significant reduction in CPU throughput compared to the Denuvo version. These issues contributed to a spike in negative Steam reviews, despite the game's strong overall user score of 95 percent.
Responding to the backlash, Capcom issued another update on March 3, removing Enigma Protector entirely. According to SteamDB changelogs, the game now operates without any third-party DRM listed on its Steam page. Kotaku has contacted Capcom for confirmation on the removal and whether any DRM might return.
This incident echoes a prior case with Resident Evil Village, released in 2021. That game initially included Denuvo, which was removed in April 2023 without a replacement, after reports that pirated versions performed better due to the absence of DRM. Enigma Protector has been used in some of Capcom's older Steam titles, such as Resident Evil 5 and Capcom Arcade Stadium, but recent major releases have favored Denuvo.
