Last month, Denuvo filed a DMCA anti-circumvention lawsuit against the anonymous game cracker ‘voices38’ at a federal court in California.

The Irdeto-owned company accuses the cracker of bypassing its Anti-Tamper protection on 26 games, including Hogwarts Legacy and Black Myth: Wukong.

For now, Denuvo does not know who it is suing. The complaint listed voices38’s Discord user ID, a Reddit account, and seven Steam profiles, but no name. As the lawsuit unfolds, Denuvo hopes to change that, with the court’s help.

In a recent filing, the company asked the court for permission to subpoena the platforms for information that could identify the cracker, ahead of the regular discovery phase.

Subpoenas for Discord, Valve and Reddit

In its ex parte motion, Denuvo explains that it reached out to the three companies directly, without success. Valve and Reddit replied that their privacy policies prevent them from sharing user data without legal backing and Discord didn’t respond at all. A subpoena is the next step.

“Denuvo seeks leave of the Court to serve limited discovery on Discord, Inc., Valve Corporation, and Reddit, Inc. solely to determine Defendant’s true identity,” the motion reads.

The proposed subpoenas show what type of information Denuvo is after. Valve, for example, is asked to hand over the registration data, names and billing addresses for seven identified Steam user accounts.

One of the Steam profiles listed in the filing uses the name Enzo Favara, the main character of Mafia: The Old Country. That is one of the games Denuvo alleges voices38 cracked.

Denuvo’s proposed subpoena also requests the payment methods and transaction histories of these accounts, as well as IP addresses with timestamps, device identifiers, and any linked accounts.

The seven Steam profiles don’t show much activity, but Denuvo likely linked them to cracking activity associated with ‘voices38’.

The proposed subpoenas for Discord and Reddit request detailed account data as well. Discord should list the servers the account is a member of and the roles assigned there. Reddit, meanwhile, is asked to produce all posts and comments by ‘voices38’, as well as the account’s subreddit memberships.

Crypto Transactions on FixedFloat

The motion also reveals new details. For example, it shows that Denuvo’s own investigation did not stop at these three platforms.

In a declaration filed alongside the motion, attorney Ryan Morris writes that Denuvo uncovered cryptocurrency transactions by the cracker on the exchange FixedFloat. These crypto transactions involve Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.

The declaration doesn’t explain how Denuvo linked these transactions to ‘voices38.’ It also doesn’t say whether the transactions reveal anything about the person behind the handle.

FixedFloat is an instant crypto exchange that promotes its service as hassle free, with “no registration and unnecessary details.” Despite mentioning it explicitly, Denuvo doesn’t ask the court for permission to subpoena the crypto platform, and the filing doesn’t say why.

What’s Next

It’s now up to Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. to decide whether Denuvo can send its subpoenas to Discord, Valve and Reddit.

Meanwhile, the lawsuit already appears to have caused some broader damage. Late last month, Tom’s Hardware reported that DenuvOwO, a group that released hypervisor bypasses for dozens of Denuvo games, had disbanded. A member reportedly said the lawsuit was a concern, while the CS.Rin forum removed links to the group’s releases.

The person or group targeted in the lawsuit didn’t seem impressed when the complaint was filed. “All is fine. Everything will continue as normal,” voices38 wrote on Reddit, shortly after the news broke.

Since then, however, no new ‘voices38’ releases have been posted. Whether that’s related to the lawsuit is unknown.

—

A copy of Denuvo’s ex parte motion for expedited discovery is available here (pdf).

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.