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Meta announces always online DRM for all existing and future Quest VR devices (mixed-news.com)

submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by drmoose@lemmy.world to c/games@lemmy.world

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Meta sneakily introduced "Platform Integrity Attestation API" which basically calls home to see whether the user has a valid license to play.

This means that to run apps user has to have online connection to perform an integrity test. Whether it's only a test on launch or continues call home like Denuvo-like DRMs is not yet clear. This could also mean that modified headsets could fail to pass this test essentially closing down the device for modifications that could damage "platform integrity". Not all details are clear yet but this doesn't look good.

Currently it's optional and up to app developers to enable it.

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[-] Whirlybird@aussie.zone 41 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Liiiiiitle bit of an outrage attempting title.

The API is being added, it’s optional for developers, and the person that is quoted in the article even says that it’s not really going to be used for that.

Also there’s never been anything stopping developers from making their games “always online” to begin with, so this changes nothing.

This is like saying steam requires always online simply because an api exists for online checking drm.

[-] drmoose@lemmy.world 23 points 11 months ago

Not a fair comparison to Steam as it allows indefinite-ish offline access as long as you check in once. This new Quest restriction has nothing like this. It's more similar to DRM systems like Denuvo that call home on startup or during play time. The API also checks device integrity which means access to apps could be disabled for modified devices and Steam does nothing of sort.

[-] Whirlybird@aussie.zone 10 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

The comparison was that the ability to enforce always online exists in steam, just like it will here. Neither will mandate it.

The ability to do this isn’t only being added now, it’s just that meta have made an api for it that developers can use if they want instead of writing their own.

[-] drmoose@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Honestly I'm not as optimistic as you are. Official API gives implicit permission for DRM. Right now if an APP did this it would be review bombed and suffer backslash. With official API it'll slowly normalizes DRM and suddenly everything requires online.

Quest is getting more closed with every release - remember when Facebook login was not required? The whole dev ecosystem is getting more complex with every update. This seems like an up-coming trend especially now that Quests main competition will be an extremely closed ecosystem of Apple. This will give Quest permision to basically lock down more.

My bet is that a year in most of the apps will have this DRM though I'd love to be proven wrong. I love my Quest 2 and only use it to draw/sculpt when I travel and that would basically kill the device for me so I might be a bit over protective of my hobby here but it really sucks when you buy a thing and somebody else tells you how to use it.

[-] Smokeless7048@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago

yea, this article is intentionally rage baiting. I hate meta as much as the next guy, but 1) im shocked there wasnt any DRM for their apps already, and b) this just opens an API for apps.

Im just not going to buy games with DRM, same as steam.