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Blockchain technology could spell the end of DRM, says Robot Cache founder

Products tracked on the blockchain can't be copied or altered, allowing users to resell their digital goods

Robot Cache, the recently announced PC storefront that uses blockchain technology to allow for the second-hand resale of digitally distributed games, could replace the need for DRM says founder Brian Fargo.

In an interview with PCGamesInsider.biz, Fargo, who also founded Interplay and inXile Entertainment, said that blockchain effectively acts as DRM.

The verification process required for blockchain means that a piece of data cannot exist in two different places at the same time, therefore it cannot be replicated or moved without consensus from the decentralised system.

"You can't have DRM-free and resell in the same thing otherwise it doesn't work," said Fargo. "In order for us to facilitate the resell, the product has to be tracked on the blockchain.

"That very aspect of it is the very thing that allows people to resell their games. We think it's well worth the trade-off... and they get remunerated if it gets relicensed. I just see it as a win for consumers and publishers."

Rather than using cumbersome DRM such as Steam or Ubisoft's Uplay, the game would be protected by the fundamentals of blockchain technology.

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Ivy Taylor avatar
Ivy Taylor: Ivy joined GamesIndustry.biz in 2017 having previously worked as a regional journalist, and a political campaigns manager before that. They are also one of the UK's foremost Sonic the Hedgehog apologists.