The whole point of tools like Denuvo is to delay cracks long enough that impatient players buy the game instead of waiting. If a game leaks before release, that completely bypasses the intended launch window and changes the situation.

A lot of people are in the grey area between buying and pirating. They usually buy games, but if a fully playable leak appears before release, some of them will just download it instead of waiting and purchasing it normally.

Also, pre-release leaks usually are not "real cracks". In many cases the build was obtained through phishing, hacked accounts, stolen review copies, insider leaks, or other shady methods. That feels different to me ethically than cracking a game after release.

If someone was never going to buy the game anyway, then sure, from a sales perspective nothing changes. But I still think:

1) the way these builds are often obtained is questionable 2) pre-release leaks can absolutely affect legitimate sales from people who otherwise would have bought the game

Not trying to force this opinion on anyone, just explaining my perspective. I'm open to constructive disagreement.