Resident Evil Village's own DRM might be causing its stuttering issues on PC

Resident Evil Village review
(Image credit: Capcom)

Hackers believe they've worked out why Resident Evil Village performs so poorly on PC – Capcom's own anti-tamper measures.

While millions of us have been enjoying getting to know Lady Dimitrescu in Resident Evil Village, it seems that the horror has been a much more terrifying experience for PC players given its frequent stuttering. 

Now, however, PC players have compared playing a hacked version of the game that circumvents anti-piracy software with the standard version and report that there's a remarkable difference between the two, suggesting it's Capcom's DRM that's affecting performance.

"All in-game shutters like the one from when you kill a zombie are fixed because Capcom DRM's entry points are patched out so most of their functions are never executed anymore," explained a hacker called Empress, who reportedly said they had a "much smoother experience" playing a pirated copy of the game.

DSO Gaming, which reported on the issue, went even further, however, and tested the hypothesis for themselves. After playing two hours of a cracked version of Resident Evil Village, the reporter insisted that they "did not get a single stutter during these two hours", adding that "even the catacombs at Lady Dimitrescu’s castle, an area notorious for its stuttering issues when killing enemies, was stutter-free".

"Resident Evil Village – whose core story mode can be completed within 10 to 12 hours – makes the case against the 'more is more' theory of value using deeper gameplay systems and reward items to transform the experience," posits Play writer, Oscar Taylor-Kent. 

"Smashed that first play-through? Now try speed-running the game in under three hours for the elusive Dashing Dad silver trophy. It's a completely different challenge, requiring a fresh approach to your map navigation and weapon usage. Thought the last boss was a breeze? Try completing the entire game using only melee weapons. 

"We know that Resident Evil Village DLC is coming… but the New Game Plus mode makes a compelling argument that value-for-money rests in multiple replays."

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Vikki Blake
Weekend Reporter, GamesRadar+

Vikki Blake is GamesRadar+'s Weekend Reporter. Vikki works tirelessly to ensure that you have something to read on the days of the week beginning with 'S', and can also be found contributing to outlets including the BBC, Eurogamer, and GameIndustry.biz. Vikki also runs a weekly games column at NME, and can be frequently found talking about Destiny 2 and Silent Hill on Twitter.