After the last update, Civilization VI The 2K Games launcher will no longer be required to play on Steam. And the upcoming sequel, Civilization 7It also won't force players to use a third-party launcher on Steam – it's just the latest example of a new and positive trend.
Steam has long been the dominant and most popular digital marketplace for PC games. Most games on the platform use Valve’s beloved app for DRM, updates, and all that. However, some publishers, like EA, have long forced players who buy their games from Steam to download, install, and play them. to separate Computer launcher.
For the last three years, More and more publishers are starting to follow EA's playbook related to Lock Steam games behind third-party apps. It’s annoying, it often leads to a terrible experience, and it can even block you from accessing a game you own because EA or someone else’s launcher isn’t working properly. However, it looks like publishers are starting to phase out all these stupid launchers, and that’s great news.
As mentioned earlier, on August 15, 2K and Firaxis in 2016 Civilization VI and the upcoming sequel It will not require a third-party launcher on Steam. In July, Kerbal Space Program quietly received an update it was removed controversial launcherAdded to the rocket building simulation a few years after its early access release.
Meanwhile, EA announced in May HE Two Persons RequiredThe award-winning co-op game is also removing the EA Games launcher, making it easier to play on the Steam Deck. But EA also confirmed this in July HE October month Dragon Age: Guardian of the Veil It won’t require players to download and install a third-party app either. This is all good news.
Look, I have no problem with companies competing with Steam and creating their own digital stores on PC. In fact, I love it. While Steam is great, I think the competition from Epic has led Valve to update and improve Steam more than usual. And if EA or Ubisoft want to have their own stores and apps where they sell games for a bit less or add exclusive DLC or something, that's fine.
The problem is that these publishers force you to download other stores and launchers even when you buy the game from Steam. That's when it gets annoying.
So the trend of publishers ditching launchers for Steam games is good news in a year full of bad gaming news. Hopefully these games sell well and convince other publishers to ditch those pesky launchers too. I can dream, right?
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