Even though it hasn’t even released in early access yet, inZOI has been subject to some controversy, but the developers are taking player feedback to heart.
InZOI producer and director Hyungjun “Kjun” Kim took to inZOI’s Steam page to address player concerns regarding the life simulator’s use of Denuvo anti-tamper, stating that the DRM is going to be removed from its early access build.
Denuvo is a common sticking point for PC players, since, in addition to limiting how much a game can be modded, it has also been shown to have a negative impact on performance.
Kjun says that the decision to remove the DRM from inZOI came after consultations with “teams from around the world” in response to community feedback.
The announcement post admits that removing Denuvo increases the chances of piracy, but they believe the benefits should outweigh the risks for making the game more “freely configurable” as part of their commitment to allowing players to mod the game as they see fit.
As I mentioned during the Online Showcase, we are committed to making inZOI a highly moddable game. Our first stage of official mod support will launch in May, allowing players to use tools like Maya and Blender to create custom content.
He goes on to say that they plan to expand mod support to more parts of the game going forward, allowing for a highly customizable experience, which would only be hampered by the inclusion of Denuvo.
He closes the post with an apology for “not aligning more closely with player expectations on this sensitive issue,” and a request for fans to continue sharing their feedback to help them make inZOI “better for everyone.”
The customization aspect of inZOI is something that is clearly at the game’s forefront, even if the developers haven’t always gone about promoting it in the most popular ways, such as through the use of generative AI at a time when AI has been at the center of multiple gaming industry controversies.
All that being said, the inZOI devs seem to be putting the effort in to ensure that their use of AI is as ethical as possible, and it doesn’t look like players on Steam mind, as the game has shot past the likes of Elden Ring Nightreign and Hollow Knight: Silksong to take the crown as the platform’s most wishlisted game.
Hopefully they will hold themselves to their commitment to both modding and listening to fan feedback as they shoot for The Sims’ chokehold on the life sim genre.
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Source: https://www.dualshockers.com/inzoi-ditches-controversial-drm-after-player-backlash/