Stellar Blade Developers Collaborate with Sony to Address PC Region Locking Issues, Assert Denuvo Has No Effect on Frame Rates

Sony Confirms Stellar Blade’s PC Launch Amid Regional and DRM Concerns

Following last week’s leak, Sony has officially announced that the action-packed game Stellar Blade will be available on PC starting June 11. However, an immediately apparent issue arose: despite the absence of a requirement for a PlayStation Network account, the game remains inaccessible for purchase in around 130 countries.

Developer Response to Regional Lock and Denuvo DRM

South Korean studio Shift Up has provided commentary on these challenges, including the controversial integration of Denuvo DRM. In a recent communication shared on X, the developer addressed the regional lock concerns and the backlash against the anti-piracy software.

The team is currently collaborating with Sony to rectify the regional access issue. Additionally, they have defended the use of Denuvo, releasing a performance chart to indicate that the DRM does not negatively impact frame rates during gameplay.

We are actively communicating with the publisher regarding the regional lock issue and are striving to resolve it as soon as possible.
The provided test data indicates that Denuvo is calibrated to maintain consistent average frame rates, and in some instances, even enhance the minimum frame rates. Furthermore, mods will be fully supported without limitations.
Connecting to PSN is completely optional and will never be mandatory.
Players will have access to equal content in both PC and PS5 versions, ensuring that early adopters are not at a disadvantage with future updates.

Performance Metrics Under Denuvo

Performance Check	Denuvo On	Denuvo Off
Metric	Protected	Unprotected
Average frame rate	59.9	59.9
Minimum frame rate	58.2	48.6
Maximum frame rate	60.8	61.4
1% low frame rate	32.8	32.5
0.1% low frame rate	30.4	31.7

User Skepticism Regarding Denuvo

Despite these reassurances, many PC gamers remain skeptical about the incorporation of Denuvo in Stellar Blade. Previous reports have suggested that this anti-piracy software might degrade performance—an issue raised by gamers regarding titles like Tekken 7 and Resident Evil Village. Other times, however, it was found that Denuvo’s impact on performance was negligible.

Anticipation for Launch and Performance Optimizations

With only three weeks until the game’s release, anticipation is building to see how well Stellar Blade performs on PC. The developers have made bold assertions about the game’s optimization, claiming excellent frame rates across various hardware configurations. Interestingly, even on the Steam Deck, players can expect to achieve frame rates between 45–50 FPS with the right settings.

Pre-Order Success

In the midst of these developments, pre-orders for Stellar Blade have propelled the game to the top of Steam’s best-selling list, bringing joy to the developers at Shift Up.

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