A couple of weeks ago, Mass Effect 3’s executive producer, Casey Hudson, said that the Origin version of Mass Effect 3 would not be using an intrusive DRM scheme. According to Hudson, the game would require a one time, single authorization, and installs would not be limited. However, it appears that EA’s Origin service uses a version of SecureROM, a DRM system that is hated by a lot of PC gamers. In fact, a lot of gamers are boycotting all games that come with any form of SecureROM, and according to Reclaim Your Game, Mass Effect 3 on Origin uses a new form of SecureROM as its DRM.
During an investigation, Reclaim Your Game discovered some traces of SecureROM in EA’s Origin service. According to RYG, EA is directly using a SecuROM capability in its release date checking portion of their game activation service. The team also claims that there is a temporary folder which is clearly linked to Sony DADC.
Those interested in finding that folder will have to look into /AppData/Local/Temp/ to find the mtka_tmp folder once they’ve installed Mass Effect 3 and re-authenticated it. If you don’t re-authenticate the game, the folder will not be created, as this new form of SecureROM is used in the release date checking portion of EA’s game activation service. So make sure to re-authenticate it!
Last but not least, Reclaim Your Game’s CEO Lisa Pham told GamePolitics that EA may have managed to “clean” any evidence that SecuROM is within Origin once it performs the release date check, however one file isn’t hidden. That file is “dsspacker_launcher.exe” and links back through to Sony DADC.
EA hasn’t commented yet on Reclaim Your Game’s findings, even though they have been informed about them. We’ll give EA the benefit of the doubt – as those finding were unveiled on Friday – and we’ll keep you informed about any future official statement!
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
Contact: Email