Intel Alder Lake CPU conflicts with DRM software, making users unable to play games

Last week, Intel launched its latest line of 12th generation Alder Lake desktop CPUs. Many users have quickly purchased to be able to enjoy the best gaming performance that the new CPU has to offer.

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 Alder Lake CPU conflicts with DRM software, making users unable to play games Picture 1Intel Alder Lake CPU conflicts with DRM software, making users unable to play games Picture 1

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:

  1. Anthem
  2. Bravely Default 2
  3. Fishing Sim World
  4. Football Manager 2019
  5. Football Manager Touch 2019
  6. Football Manager 2020
  7. Football Manager Touch 2020
  8. Legend of Mana
  9. Mortal Kombat 11
  10. Tony Hawks Pro Skater 1 and 2
  11. Warhammer I
  12. Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
  13. Far Cry Primal
  14. Fernbus Simulator
  15. For Honor
  16. Lost in Random
  17. Madden 22
  18. Maneater
  19. Need for Speed ​​– Hot Pursuit Remastered
  20. Sea of ​​Solitude
  21. Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order
  22. Tourist Bus Simulator
  23. 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:

  1. Ace Combat 7
  2. Assassin's Creed Odyssey
  3. Assassins Creed Origins
  4. Code Vein
  5. eFootball 2021
  6. F1 2019
  7. Far Cry New Dawn
  8. FIFA 19
  9. FIFA 20
  10. Football Manager 2021
  11. Football Manager Touch 2021
  12. Ghost Recon Breakpoint
  13. Ghost Recon Wildlands
  14. Immortals Fenyx Rising
  15. Just Cause 4
  16. Life is Strange 2
  17. Madden 21
  18. Monopoly Plus
  19. Need For Speed ​​Heat
  20. Scott Pilgrim vs The World
  21. Shadow of the Tomb Raider
  22. Shinobi Striker
  23. Soulcalibur VI
  24. Starlink
  25. Team Sonic Racing
  26. Total War Saga - Three Kingdoms
  27. Train Sim World
  28. Train Sim World 2
  29. 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:

  1. Turn on the machine and access the BIOS
  2. Switch Legacy Game Compatibility Mode option in BIOS to On
  3. Save BIOS and exit
  4. Boot into the OS
  5. Press the Scroll Lock button on the keyboard to On
  6. Run the affected game
  7. Press the Scroll Lock button to Off after the game finishes running

Good luck!

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