Just when it seemed like 2025 might end quietly, the year closed out with one more high-profile crack in the gaming world.
With only days remaining before the calendar flipped to 2026, Sonic Colors: Ultimate became the latest major release to fall to piracy after its Denuvo protection was successfully bypassed.
The breakthrough was credited to voices38, a name that has become increasingly familiar within piracy circles throughout the second half of the year.
What Made Sonic Colors: Ultimate a Notable Target?
Sonic Colors: Ultimate, a remastered version of the Wii-era Sonic title, had relied on Denuvo’s anti-tamper technology since its PC release.
While the game itself is several years old, the crack drew attention not because of its age, but because of how the protection was defeated.
According to voices38, the technique did not involve traditional DRM removal, but instead caused Denuvo to operate as if the software were legally licensed.
This matters because it points to an understanding of Denuvo’s internal logic, not merely a surface-level exploit.
Why Is This Crack Being Called a “Major Milestone”?
The hacker described the feat as a major milestone that exposed important insights into modern Denuvo protections.
Previous statements from voices38 suggested their cracking tools were still evolving, and this success appears to confirm that progress.
The Sonic Colors: Ultimate crack is best understood as part of a continuing pattern of technical growth that defined 2025.
That wider context can’t be overlooked, as Sonic Colors: Ultimate becomes the latest Sega-published title to be cracked, following Persona 5 Royal and Persona 4 Golden, both protected by Denuvo.
These releases gave pirates several major games to access just before year’s end and reinforced the idea that Denuvo-protected titles are no longer as untouchable as they once seemed.
Beyond Sega, other Denuvo-protected games once thought difficult or impractical to crack were also breached.
Is This Part of a Bigger Trend Against Denuvo?
One of the more telling aspects of this trend is that many of these breakthroughs happened in the latter half of 2025.
Sonic Colors: Ultimate wasn’t the only title affected, as Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and Starlink: Battle for Atlas were likewise cracked during ongoing experimentation efforts.
In an even more notable development, Black Myth: Wukong was successfully broken by a Denuvo researcher.
Even though the crack remained private for privacy reasons, the release of its research tools helped advance community insight into DRM flaws.
For more like this, stick with us here at Gfinityesports.com, the best website for gaming news.