Serious Sam 3: BFE Features Creative DRM that Only Pirates will Experience

Like most gamers, no one here at Techgage is a fan of DRM – at least, DRM that worsens the experience for those who actually purchase the software, game and et cetera. We’ve talked in great deal about DRM in the past, as a simple search on our site will prove, and to date, there hasn’t been much DRM that we’ve felt solved a problem without causing another. However, there have been some amazing attempts in recent memory.

With the launch of Take On Helicopter a couple of months ago, it became known quick that pirated versions of the game experienced texture issues, leading some pirates to hit up support forums to question their problem only to be outed to all (a sweet, sweet thing). Similar methods were used to oust Garry’s Mod pirates, going as far as to reveal their Steam ID if they had the gall to go ask for support.

Now, it’s perhaps the world’s most serious developer getting in on the action: Croteam. Serious Sam 3: BFE released a couple of weeks ago, and for those who properly paid for their copy, the experience looks to be a good one. But for those who didn’t, there’s a dark red (it’s touted as pink, but it’s not) scorpion that chases the player around seemingly endlessly, essentially ruining the gameplay experience.

Croteam states that this only happens with cracked versions of the game, but just how it is that the developer can detect whether a game is cracked or not, I’m unsure. It could have something to do with Steam, however, as that’s currently the only place to play it. Either way, if the technique avoids false-positives, then this is simply a brilliant form of DRM that leaves the legit gamer alone. The only problem is, experiencing this actually seems kind of cool.