WB Games
Hogwarts Legacy requires an internet connection to play, even with a physical copy
There seems to be no spell capable of making DRM disappear, that dreaded anti-piracy measure that tends to intrude on player’s experiences. Now it’s in single player games?
The launch of Hogwarts Legacy has become a very celebrated day for Harry Potter fans. The critics have made their verdict clear: the game turned out to be really good. However, some users have received an unpleasant surprise if we take into account that we are dealing with a title without multiplayer functions: it turns out that it requires internet connection (due to DRM) even if you play with a physical disc version.
In the following screenshot of the Spanish version on disc, you can see the message that appears during the first parts of the game, in the case of playing without an internet connection on PS5. The text translates to “Congratulations on starting your adventure at Hogwarts Legacy. connect to the internet and download the latest patch to continue”. Usually in many other games that have a day 1 patch, the system asks if we want to reject the installation and continue before opening the game, not by stopping us in the middle of the game.
What is DRM in video games?
It is a term that is also applied to other forms of digital entertainment, since the acronym DRM means Digital Rights Management. It is a protection system that we have seen in numerous titles (on PC the use of Denuvo as an anti-piracy measure). The fact that many companies bet on the use of this technology usually generates discomfort among users, since any of its forms end up imposing a requirement that people consider unpopular: the need for a mandatory internet connection. It is common to see it in online video games, which is why the vast majority of players complain when it appears in a single player experience. Without going any further, the controversy that has raged around Netflix is due, in part, to a confusion that suggested the use of DRM on the streaming platform.
Since the PC version of Hogwarts Legacy comes packed with Denuvo to stop piracy, players on said platform are now subject to random verification requests from the system. Should they not have an active internet connection at the moment, the game would automatically close and boot you out to the desktop, refusing to launch again until a verification can be made. This is wouldn’t be that much of a problem for a lot of people, but the fact that these checks are done randomly and sometimes as frequently as 30 seconds between each check make it entirely annoying.
Source | Hogwarts Legacy