Anti-piracy technology provider Denuvo by Irdeto has partnered with the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC).
The deal will see the two parties join forces to ‘develop a sophisticated approach’ to combat cheating and match-fixing within the esports industry.
In addition to ESIC utilising Denuvo’s anti-cheat software, Denuvo will create periodic reports which showcase specific data relating to integrity risk. It is unclear how the technological framework in development will be implemented across titles.
The deal marks Denuvo by Irdeta’s first foray into the esports industry. However, it’s no stranger to working with a number of game publishers. Since launching, Denuvo by Irdeta has collaborated with the likes of Valve’s Steam platform and game developer Bethesda.
Its agreement with Denuvo by Irdeta is the first partnership for ESIC in 2023. Over the last 12 months, it has joined forces with tournament organiser NCOVR, and has been awarded Competitive Gaming Gold Standard certification by esports live betting service supplier SIS.
The commission continues to combat cheating and match-fixing within esports. In 2021, it issued a two-year ban to former HEROIC coach Nicolai ‘HUNDEN’ Petersen, though those charges were dropped in December last year. After he was cleared Petersen became an analyst for Danish organisation Astralis.
Stephen Hanna, Director of Global Strategy and Partnerships at ESIC, spoke on the deal: “ESIC is proud to announce this new partnership category targeted at strengthening the role of anti-cheat providers in the maintenance of competitive integrity within the esports industry.
“As a distinguished partner to the games industry, Denuvo is well poised as our first anti-cheat partner to work with us in finding and executing upon more sophisticated applications for anti-cheat technology to tournament operation.”