Focus Entertainment Removes Denuvo From Atomic Heart on PC

Focus Entertainment has removed Denuvo from the PC version of Atomic Heart. The anti-tamper software was stripped out in a new patch more than three years after the game’s February 2023 launch, as DSOGaming reported.

The Steam store page still lists Denuvo for now, but the removal is live. The game was cracked in July 2026. Once that happens, the DRM’s only remaining job is to inconvenience the people who paid for it.

Why Denuvo came out of Atomic Heart now

The move continues a busy stretch for Denuvo removals. Square Enix has dropped it from more than a dozen titles, Capcom from Resident Evil 4 Remake and others, and Warner Bros from Gotham Knights. Publishers tend to file these removals once the crack has done the deciding, as with 007 First Light and the 2026 run of high-profile cracks.

Atomic Heart’s PC build is consistent about arriving late to its own promises. It was promoted as an early ray tracing showpiece and shipped with none; Mundfish took a year to add reflections and ambient occlusion, and the results underwhelmed. A Denuvo removal three and a half years in fits that record.

For owners, the practical change is modest: no more periodic online re-authentication. The game is Steam Deck Verified, so that check has been part of the portable experience too.

Atomic Heart 2

The sequel is in development on Unreal Engine 5 with a target of late 2026, which DSOGaming expects will realistically slip into 2027.