Intel Alder Lake CPU conflicts with DRM software, making users unable to play games
However, the excitement was quickly replaced by disappointment. Alder Lake-S CPUs clashed with the digital rights management (DRM) software of many titles. This makes the user unable to play the game as usual.
Regarding this issue, Intel said that some DRM software will not be able to correctly recognize the new power-saving cores of Intel 12th Gen CPUs. Therefore, DRM will determine that they are a different system. and prevent the game using that DRM software from launching successfully. The game may crash while launching or playing, or will automatically shut down unexpectedly.
Intel says that it has updated the microcode of its Alder Lake CPUs and has also alerted DRM software developers to the issue. But it is possible that at the time of Alder Lake's launch, the DRM software had not yet updated their algorithms.
Below is a list of games affected by this issue, highlighted in bold are affected games on Windows 11 while the rest are affected games on Windows 10:
- Anthem
- Bravely Default 2
- Fishing Sim World
- Football Manager 2019
- Football Manager Touch 2019
- Football Manager 2020
- Football Manager Touch 2020
- Legend of Mana
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Tony Hawks Pro Skater 1 and 2
- Warhammer I
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
- Far Cry Primal
- Fernbus Simulator
- For Honor
- Lost in Random
- Madden 22
- Maneater
- Need for Speed – Hot Pursuit Remastered
- Sea of Solitude
- Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order
- Tourist Bus Simulator
- Maneater
Intel said it is working with Denuvo and other DRM software vendors to release a patch for this issue soon.
On the other hand, here are the games that are only affected on Windows 10 and have a temporary fix:
- Ace Combat 7
- Assassin's Creed Odyssey
- Assassins Creed Origins
- Code Vein
- eFootball 2021
- F1 2019
- Far Cry New Dawn
- FIFA 19
- FIFA 20
- Football Manager 2021
- Football Manager Touch 2021
- Ghost Recon Breakpoint
- Ghost Recon Wildlands
- Immortals Fenyx Rising
- Just Cause 4
- Life is Strange 2
- Madden 21
- Monopoly Plus
- Need For Speed Heat
- Scott Pilgrim vs The World
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider
- Shinobi Striker
- Soulcalibur VI
- Starlink
- Team Sonic Racing
- Total War Saga - Three Kingdoms
- Train Sim World
- Train Sim World 2
- Wolfenstein Youngblood
To fix the DRM problem on the games you see above, you can upgrade your computer to Windows 11 or use a workaround called Scroll Lock that Intel provides. Steps to perform Scroll Lock:
- Turn on the machine and access the BIOS
- Switch Legacy Game Compatibility Mode option in BIOS to On
- Save BIOS and exit
- Boot into the OS
- Press the Scroll Lock button on the keyboard to On
- Run the affected game
- Press the Scroll Lock button to Off after the game finishes running
Good luck!
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