Monster Hunter Rise broken on Steam Deck with Capcom’s new DRM update

Capcom’s latest update for Monster Hunter Rise on Steam has broken some compatibility with Steam Deck, with users reporting that they’re no longer to load the game on Valve’s handheld PC gaming platform.

Monday’s update to Rise also removes digital rights management software Denuvo, but has reportedly added a new layer of protection in the form of Enigma Protector, a piece of software that Capcom has been adding to its PC games in recent months.

In a notice posted to Steam, Capcom acknowledged that is has “confirmed an issue preventing the game from running on Steam Deck,” and is “currently investigating” player reports of Monster Hunter Rise’s issues. The game’s Steam store page still lists Rise as “Verified” on Steam Deck, meaning “fully functional” on the device.

In the wake of Monday’s update, Monster Hunter Rise players have called out Capcom on the game’s store page, writing negative reviews of the DRM change. Monster Hunter Rise’s recent Steam reviews now show as “mixed” — though the game’s 55,000 overall reviews still skew “very positive.”

The change in Monster Hunter Rise DRM — which appears to also included another piece of protection software named Obsidium — follows a recent change Capcom made to the Steam version of Resident Evil: Revelations. That 2013 Resident Evil game also added Enigma Protector, leading to reported performance issues with the game. Capcom wound up pulling that update, saying that it plans to re-release it once outstanding issues with it are resolved.

Capcom has been adding Enigma Protector to portions of its back catalog on Steam, including Resident Evil 5, Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, and multiple Mega Man Legacy Collection titles. The publisher has also reportedly taken down YouTube videos from Monster Hunter speedrunning groups that featured modded versions of Monster Hunter Rise expansion Sunbreak. Enigma Protector is, in part, an attempt to restrict third-party mods in PC games.

Polygon has contacted Capcom for clarity on its use of Enigma Protector in Monster Hunter Rise and other games, and will update this story when the company responds.