The complaint

Denuvo GmbH v. Voices38, an unknown individual or entity, and Does 1-10, filed September 14, 2026 as No. 5:26-cv-10423-NC (N.D. Cal.), is a 16-page complaint under 17 U.S.C. § 1201, ECF No. 1, with a jury demand. Denuvo is an Austrian company based in Salzburg that provides game-security technology, including its Anti-Tamper product, to game publishers. The complaint describes the defendant as a computer hacker using the alias voices38 on platforms including Reddit and alleges, on information and belief, that the defendant is an individual. It also lists a Discord user ID and Steam accounts it associates with the defendant.

What it alleges

Denuvo alleges the defendant bypassed its Anti-Tamper protection in 26 video games from several publishers, such as Need for Speed Heat, Hogwarts Legacy, Black Myth Wukong, and Doom: The Dark Ages, allowing pirated versions, and posted materials and instructions, including on a Reddit page, for others to access the cracked games. It cites registrations covering several of the games, such as PA 2-230-991 for Need for Speed Heat, which the Copyright Office public catalog lists under that title. It alleges, on information and belief, that the postings led a large number of people to play unlicensed copies.

Counts and relief

Count One pleads circumvention of a technological measure under 17 U.S.C. § 1201(a)(1). Count Two pleads trafficking in circumvention technology, products, or services under 17 U.S.C. § 1201(a)(2). Denuvo seeks a finding of willful violation; temporary, preliminary, and permanent injunctions; actual damages and profits or statutory damages under 17 U.S.C. § 1203(c); an accounting and a constructive trust over profits; a sworn compliance report; and fees and costs.

On the docket

Because a party had not consented to magistrate judge jurisdiction, the case was reassigned on September 28, 2026 to Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr., and the clerk directed that filings use No. 4:26-cv-10423-HSG. The initial case management conference is set for January 12, 2027. On October 16, 2026, Judge Gilliam granted Denuvo's ex parte motion for expedited discovery, allowing narrowly tailored subpoenas to Discord, Valve, and Reddit to identify and serve the defendant.