"Free Activation"? Looking for an explanation

I noticed a lot of game repacks provide the installation files, but then require you to get a "free activation" to actually play the game.

What exactly is going on here under the hood and why can't the crack provider supply a traditional crack or keygen?

EDIT: This seems to be specific to Denuvo games. I'm going down the rabbit hole and people are forced to queue up for what I'm assuming is the equivalent of a serial key? that ties directly to their steam account....which seems like a great way to get your steam account banned.

Requirements to download the discord server's proprietary game launcher and bypass all security features on your PC.

Seems insanely sketchy and overcomplicated. Am I completely misunderstanding this?