Square Enix has removed Denuvo from Octopath Traveler 2

Yeah they do. It's quite pricy iirc.

I think that's exactly right. I think there is a one-time cost they could pay, but it's a lot more, so they just didn't bother.

And since the objective is to "protect" release sales, taking it out a few months later makes sense.

Has to be. There’s always going to be a point in a games post-release lifecycle where the cost is just not worth it anymore. Shame these decisions always seem to be based on cost and not what’s right for the consumer.