The team behind Stellar Blade has responded to player concerns regarding the game's DRM protection and regional restrictions. Here's what you need to know about these implementations and upcoming solutions.
Stellar Blade PC Version Updates
Developer SHIFT UP Responds to DRM Concerns
Ahead of Stellar Blade's PC debut, developer SHIFT UP addressed community questions about the inclusion of Denuvo anti-tamper technology. In a May 17 social media post, they explained that "the DRM implementation has been carefully optimized to maintain consistent average framerates, with potential improvements to minimum framerates in certain scenarios."
Digital Rights Management (DRM) serves as copy protection software designed to combat software piracy. While controversial among gamers due to potential performance impacts, SHIFT UP's internal testing revealed nearly identical benchmark results comparing versions with and without DRM protection.
The studio's comprehensive tests examined average, minimum, and peak framerates alongside stability metrics (1% and 0.1% lows). Notably, the PC version maintains full modding support without DRM-related limitations - a welcome exception in DRM-protected titles. While players appreciate the transparency, many continue advocating for complete DRM removal.
Regional Availability Challenges
Beyond DRM concerns, Stellar Blade faces accessibility challenges due to PlayStation Network regional restrictions. Although the PC version won't require PSN connectivity, the publisher's existing policies currently prevent distribution in approximately 130 unsupported territories.
SHIFT UP assures players they're "actively collaborating with the publisher to resolve these regional limitations." They emphasized complete parity between PC and PlayStation 5 versions, promising "no content advantages for early adopters" through future updates.
Stellar Blade launches June 11 via Steam, with developers continuing to address these concerns post-release. For ongoing updates, visit our comprehensive game coverage below.
