The PC platform remains an interesting space for many players when it comes to how titles on there operate. While many users purchase titles through storefronts – predominantly Steam – there are other avenues as well. In that, respected launchers from publishers. However, in recent years these firms have abandoned this and embrace proper digital marketplaces instead. Already we’ve witnessed this with Bethesda closing its launcher altogether back in 2022.
Additionally, other companies are negating the option to only purchase its titles through the respected launcher. Previously, we witnessed this with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order for Electronic Arts when the game launched simultaneously on Steam. And again, this was illustrated with another Star Wars title – Star Wars Outlaws – which launched on Steam for Ubisoft just this past week most recently.
Now in move from publisher 2K, the firm has completely closed its 2K Launcher. Instead, 2K Games encourages users to alternatively purchase games through Steam & Epic Games Store. And this does not strip you of your titles either, the firm stated. “No, so long as you purchased the game on Steam or Epic, you’ll continue to have access to it on that platform.”
We’ve done the heavy lifting, but to take it all the way home there might be one step left for you. First thing is to try closing and reopening Steam – that means completely closing and not just using the X to minimize the platform. Rebooting your PC is a good way to be sure it happened. For Epic, just make sure you’ve downloaded the most recent update for the game.
“As of November 18, 2024, the 2K Launcher has been removed from every game that used it on Epic and Steam. Additionally, we also removed the “2K Launcher Beta”, a completely separate launcher, from Sid Meier’s Civilization V. On November 25, a follow-up update was sent out via Steam to make sure the 2K Launcher was fully removed. You may notice the 2KLauncher folder was replaced with a text file called 2kLauncherRemoved.txt. This file isn’t needed, and you can safely delete it!”
In its FAQ, 2K also elaborates that users will need to launch through the respected marketplace if desktop launchers do not function. “Steam will always open whatever the top launch option on the Steam Launch Option list is when launching a game from a Desktop shortcut, even if you have selected one of the other options as your preferred option.
“If you prefer to use one of the other options, you will need to launch the game through Steam itself rather than the game’s Desktop Shortcut.” This move comes at an even more interesting time as firms like PlayStation are doubling down on account authentication for its titles on PC. You can read the full report by heading here.
Are you affected by the decision by 2K?
Source: 2K
