Developer TT Games and publisher Warner Bros. Games have quietly added controversial DRM software Denuvo to Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight ahead of its launch later this month.
PC players were quick to raise the alarms after Reddit user luffy_3155 shared that the Lego Batman game’s Steam page now features a 3rd-party DRM tag. The last-minute addition sees the anti-piracy measure baked into the game just weeks ahead of its launch for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S May 22, 2026.
Game developers often include Denuvo to fight back against piracy, but the tech has faced backlash from PC players due, more than anything, to its negative effects on each individual game’s performance. Now that Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is confirmed to use it, too, some players are saying they’re ready to write off buying a PC copy altogether.
“Oh well if they ever fix performance and remove Denuvo, I’ll buy it on a steep sale,” one player said.
“Bruh, the game already has INSANE system requirements,” another added. “Now, Denuvo is gonna TANK performance even more.”
Adding insult to injury are the recently revealed PC requirements for Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. The Unreal Engine 5 title demands 16 GB of RAM and requires frame generation to be turned on just to achieve 30 fps. With Denuvo thrown into the mix, the fear is that most hardware will struggle to run at all, much less run well.
Batman doesn’t have the best history on PC, with many Lego Batman fans worried they could be facing another disaster similar to the launch of Batman: Arkham Knight in 2015. It’s hard to say what state Legacy of the Dark Knight will arrive in until its release date arrives in a few weeks.
“Performance was already an issue with this game. This will surely help,” someone else commented.
Reddit user voices38 became the first to crack Denuvo DRM in 2026 when they reported finding a workaround for Resident Evil Requiem last month. It seems players were able to bypass the technology for all single-player, non-VR Denuvo games only a few weeks later.
Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight launches for PC and consoles later this month. TT and Warner Bros. published a launch trailer for the tongue-in-cheek spinoff featuring Seal’s Kiss from a Rose just a few days ago. You can check out our final preview for the Arkham-like Lego game here.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
