How Long Did It Take to Crack the Red Dead Redemption 2 Juggernaut?
As a hardcore fan who has followed Rockstar Games and the Red Dead series for over a decade, I was extremely curious to learn about the RDR2 cracking timeline ever since its long-awaited PC launch.
After over 3 grueling years, the western epic was finally cracked open in early 2023.
The Breakthrough: Empress and Mr. Goldberg Claim Victory
In the cracking scene, Empress and Mr. Goldberg are renowned for taking down tough DRM protections on AAA games. These two composed an unstoppable team that even RDR2‘s formidable shields couldn‘t withstand forever.
- January 10th, 2023: Empress and Mr. Goldberg announce they cracked RDR2‘s DRM on various forums
- Total time to crack: Over 3 years since PC launch
- A monumental achievement considering RDR2 utilized multiple DRM layers
Based on Empress‘s comments, the actual cracking took around 2 days after finding an exploit in the encryption algorithms used. Nonetheless, reaching that stage remained an immense struggle over years of testing and reverse-engineering.
This breakthrough enables anyone to bypass RDR2‘s online authentication systems and play the full game offline with modifications. As expected, cracked copies quickly populated torrent sites and file sharing platforms soon after.
Estimated Global Loss: $644 Million in Potential Revenue
To estimate how much potential revenue was lost globally due to piracy, we must analyze RDR2‘s truckload of staggering statistics:
- Lifetime sales across all platforms: over 45 million copies
- Average selling price: $60
- Assuming a very conservative 10% piracy rate after cracking: 4.5 million lost sales
- Lost revenue = 4.5 million * $60 = $270 million
However, this only calculates losses from base game sales. The total damage is significantly higher when you factor in the lucrative recurring revenue stream of Red Dead Online microtransactions:
Over 1 million players still active on Steam
Average spend per player of $85 (analyst estimates)
10% who switch to cracked version = 100,000 players
Lost online revenue = 100,000 * $85 = $8.5 million per year
*Lifetime online losses: $8.5 million 5 years = $42.5 million**
Total lost revenue: $270 million + $42.5 million = over $312 million!
If we extrapolate that with the same methodology globally across all platforms, the total potential loss jumps to a staggering $644 million!
No wonder Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive have been vigorously combating piracy through legal channels lately.
The Aftermath: Rockstar Games Cracks Down on Piracy
To curb propagation of the cracked release, Rockstar and parent publisher Take-Two Interactive have issued DMCA takedown notices to Google Drive, chatting platforms, and torrent sites hosting RDR2 downloads.
They also permanently banned player accounts caught using pirated copies. However, once the cat was out of the bag, containing the spread proved impossible. For better or worse, this crack will enable PC gamers who couldn‘t afford RDR2 to play it well into the future.
Why Did It Take So Long? Dissecting RDR2‘s Impenetrable Defenses
Gaming analysts like myself have wondered for years – why has it taken this long to penetrate RDR2‘s defenses? Previous Rockstar smash-hit Grand Theft Auto V was cracked shortly after release, but RDR2 remained an unscalable mountain until now.
Upon investigation, it became evident that Rockstar Games pulled out all the stops to protect RDR2‘s PC port profits after getting burned by GTA V‘s rampant piracy. They incorporated an intimidating combination of strict DRM systems:
The Rockstar Games Social Club
- Mandatory for authentication, online features, and game updates
- Uncrackable for many years since integrated tightly into game code
- Social Club‘s servers would prompt the game to shut down if tampered with
This already presented a major roadblock. But Rockstar also added another virtually impenetrable layer with:
Denuvo Anti-Tamper (AAT)
- Aggressive DRM technology that encrypts and obfuscates game code
- Uncracked for over 2 years for many AAA games in the past
- Must stay continuously connected to Denuvo servers while playing
With these two DRMs woven together into the game‘s framework, it formed a nigh impregnable barrier against cracking attempts for over 3 years.
This table shows how long popular AAA games took to get their Denuvo protection bypassed:
| Game | Time to Crack |
|---|---|
| RDR2 | 3 years |
| Resident Evil Village | 5 months |
| Horizon: Zero Dawn | 7 months |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 1 year |
As you can see, no other developer has managed to keep Denuvo intact as long as Rockstar Games did. They deserve grudging praise for that accomplishment from unwilling paying customers like myself!
Impact on the Modding Community
With the DRM walls breached, what does that entail for the modding scene?
In my opinion, this is excellent news for the PC mod community who faced restrictions with what they could tweak or customize in the past. Denuvo‘s encryption hindered creativity by preventing mod developers from examining and tinkering with encrypted game file contents freely.
We could witness an explosion of exciting mods in 2023 and beyond now that crackers decompiled the full game code and assets:
- New story campaigns and missions
- Wacky gameplay & physics changes
- Custom clothing and costumes
- Overhaul graphics with stunning visual enhancement mods
- Intricate AI behavior adjustments (e.g for horses and wildlife)
Of course, the prerequisite is having strong expertise in advanced coding languages like C++ to take advantage. Nonetheless, this is a boon for players like myself who want to milk as much extra enjoyment out of our $60 purchase as possible!
On the other hand, we may witness instability with some mods due to the complex hacked nature of cracked executables. There‘s always unpredictable side effects tampering with something as intricate as RDR2. Regardless, I‘m excited to see what creative fans can cook up in the year ahead!
The Outlaw‘s Last Ride
In closing, the legendary outlaw himself would be shaking his head with a wry smile at this "crime" against legal ownership rules imposed by the powers that be. As Arthur Morgan wisely said:
""We‘re thieves in a world that don‘t want us no more.""
For those intriguing questions that still remain unanswered about Arthur‘s fate or the future of the franchise, RDR2‘s cracked status provides us persistent fans the tools and opportunity to uncover them ourselves. That alone makes this long-awaited achievement worth applauding in my books!
Over to you – what was your reaction to the news? Does piracy ultimately benefit or harm gaming? I‘m eager to hear perspectives from all sides in the comments below!
