Denuvo opens a Discord server in order to improve its image. But it has to shut it 2 days later when players bully it.

If I were less committed to videogame journalism's noble crusade, I would say that there is money to be made if you can gently cajole institutions and people who are widely despised away from any contact with the public. I bet you can make six figures by telling hated organisations that they are saying Boo-urns.

What is the name of today's despised corporation that has bafflingly opened up the door to unmediated engagement with the public? Denuvo. Yes, the DRM software, which is the subject of much ire on the internet (and for good reason, at least sometimes), decided to clear the air by opening its own Discord channel (via TechRaptor), where curious consumers could ask it questions about DRM technology. Denuvo's FAQs, the latest Denuvo News, and, most importantly, channels where people can ask questions, chat and post memes.

No prizes for guessing what happened. Denuvo returned to X two days after opening its doors and with "nearly 2,000 users on the server" to announce that the "amount of inappropriate content" had made moderation difficult for their small team. We've decided to make a few changes to the server. We'll be implementing them over the next couple of days. Stay tuned!" Since two days, no one has been able post on the server.

I.e., the entire Discord server is in read-only mode while Denuvo tries to figure out how to stop people from screaming obscenities towards Denuvo. I suspect that the worst offenders have been removed from the server. There are a lot of messages like 'User was warned for bad language usage' from the automod. But a quick look at the frozen-in time channels reveals people posting anti-piracy memes and wishing bankruptcy to the company.

The rest is just a continuation. Denuvo is hated by many and they have made it clear. I feel sorry for the Denuvo staff who have taken on the moderating of the inevitable tyre fire of the server on top of their regular responsibilities. But also: What in the world did Denuvo expect to happen? You could as well try to rehabilitate the scabies.

It looks like Denuvo learned a few lessons. The server was beeping back to life as I was writing, with an announcement that we "restructured the servers a bit." You're basically confined to a no-fun zone in the welcome channel, forever in slow mode, until you prove that you can behave yourself. At this point, Denuvo will elevate your status to "Verified Players" and let you access the meme, chat and dev Q&A. Do I believe this will stop the avalanche? No.

The server will be back on Monday, at 12 noon CET. Denuvo, good luck!