Capcom has rolled back a recent update to Resident Evil Revelations, the 11-year-old survival horror title, following widespread community backlash. The update, implemented on January 8, 2024, introduced the controversial anti-tamper software “Enigma Protector” to the game.
Steam users quickly reported issues after the update, citing significant performance drops, crashes, and broken mods (review bombing). Many popular modifications used for graphical enhancements and quality-of-life improvements became inoperable with the inclusion of Enigma Protector. Frustrated players voiced their displeasure through negative Steam reviews, prompting Capcom to take action.
Capcom issued a brief statement on Steam, acknowledging the “issue observed with the latest update” and announcing the immediate rollback. The statement offered apologies for the inconvenience and hinted at a potential re-release of the update once the identified problems are addressed.
Capcom remained opaque regarding the specific cause of the issues and whether Enigma Protector will be included in future updates. This isn’t the first time Capcom has faced criticism for adding Enigma Protector to their back catalog. Several other titles, including Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection and Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, received similar updates in 2023, sparking similar concerns from players about performance impacts and mod compatibility.
Enigma didn’t help the issue by pretending their software doesn’t worsen games. They were even antagonistic as if it was the first report of a game not working as well after their software was added.
“Curious, what action do you need from us? And why do you blame us that someone use our software? Someone use, we do not push to use it. What is our guilt you think? And why are you so sure that all that you reported belongs to our software? Maybe you are so angered because you can’t use the cheats anymore?”
Enigma Official Admin Response (from a locked and deleted thread)
It’s a strange way of answering when a lot of the community are against them. However, Capcom’s recent move to include Enigma Protector also coincides with their stricter stance on mods, as expressed during a presentation in late 2023. The presentation equated all mods to cheats and warned of potential reputational damage caused by mods deemed offensive or morally questionable.
With the Resident Evil Revelations update rolled back, the future of Enigma Protector in Capcom’s older titles is now up in the air. The incident highlights the ongoing tension between developers seeking to protect their intellectual property and players who value the freedom to modify their single-player experiences. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.
