I don’t use the SDA, and I don’t use any plug-ins that require the eLicenser, so I install Cubase 12 from the direct download link and I don’t install the eLicenser as I have no need for it.
However, the News section in the Hub is blank without it.
My workaround is to keep a copy of the file “C:\Program Files\eLicenser\Tools\eLicenserCore.dll” on the system.
Surely this is an unnecessary dependency?