Can this game be played offline?

[Count Viscount]

I see arguments about this in these threads and cannot figure out the actual answer. If my internet goes out, can I still play this?

[Jack-o-Lantern]

Originally posted by Count Viscount:

I see arguments about this in these threads and cannot figure out the actual answer. If my internet goes out, can I still play this?

yes you can play offline as long you have a connection while:
- download (for obvious reasons)
- first start of game (any steam game need to be connected for first moment you launch them)

[wolfinston85]

Like the above poster said, although the second rule isn't because of Steam, it's because of Denuvo.

[Jack-o-Lantern]

Originally posted by wolfinston85:

Like the above poster said, although the second rule isn't because of Steam, it's because of Denuvo.

Also steam suggest to launch first time (any game) while connected. As it decrypt/getkeys if needed and not done while download or if game is moved in/out steam using steam backup function.

and yes, denuvo as well need a check so this game especially need to be online first time of use

[Count Viscount]

so after the first time i play, i don't need to be connected for future plays. Is that correct?

[Yann Moix]

Originally posted by Count Viscount:

so after the first time i play, i don't need to be connected for future plays. Is that correct?

No.

With Denuvo, the game checks alone if you connected to the internet once a week or somthing like that. You cannot, for example play for months on a laoptop who never has internet.

[MancSoulja]

Originally posted by wolfinston85:

Like the above poster said, although the second rule isn't because of Steam, it's because of Denuvo.

Every Steam game needs an internet connection for its initial launch.

[MancSoulja]

Originally posted by Yann Moix:

Originally posted by Count Viscount:

so after the first time i play, i don't need to be connected for future plays. Is that correct?

No.

With Denuvo, the game checks alone if you connected to the internet once a week or somthing like that. You cannot, for example play for months on a laoptop who never has internet.

Denuvo doesn't require any online checks, bar it's initial one, if a game requires periodic online checks, that's because the game's developer has customised Denuvo to act that way.

[Videogame Jukebox]

Yes it can. People are lying about Denuvo not allowing it.

[Videogame Jukebox]

At the launch of a game a validation of the offline token is performed.
If the offline token is invalid or missing, an appropriate request code is generated based on the system environment and sent to an online server.
The online server responds with a corresponding response code.
The local anti-tamper component uses the response code to write a new valid offline token to the local storage drive.
The game continues to launch along with the now valid offline token.
On subsequent launches the anti-tamper protection will automatically load and make use of the offline token stored on the storage drive, up until said token is made invalid again.

If the online connection fails the user will get a manual "offline"
activation option where they can make use of a secondary online connected device to retrieve the corresponding response code, an option not available for either Origin, Uplay, or possibly other supported platforms either. The availability of this second option means a local token generator is theoretically possible for a fully offline procedure, as was confirmed in 2017 with the release of an unofficial offline token generator

Even if it were to get locked you can easily unlock it with another device.

https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Denuvo

The bad actors are so bad at lying its just laughable.

[Bun]

Originally posted by MancSoulja:

Originally posted by wolfinston85:

Like the above poster said, although the second rule isn't because of Steam, it's because of Denuvo.

Every Steam game needs an internet connection for its initial launch.

Just popping in for others; this is absolutely not true. Only if there is DRM installed, as this person was corrected about above. Don't know why they're so insistent on obvious falsity but I guess that's the time we live in now.

[MancSoulja]

Originally posted by Bun:

Originally posted by MancSoulja:

Every Steam game needs an internet connection for its initial launch.

Just popping in for others; this is absolutely not true. Only if there is DRM installed, as this person was corrected about above. Don't know why they're so insistent on obvious falsity but I guess that's the time we live in now.

The person above posted the instructions for Denuvo activation and had nothing to do with what I said, neither does DRM, it has nothing to with DRM.

Go and read Valve’s instructions for offline mode, they make it very clear that games need to be launched once in online mode before they can be launched in offline mode.

[Bun]

Originally posted by MancSoulja:

Originally posted by Bun:

Just popping in for others; this is absolutely not true. Only if there is DRM installed, as this person was corrected about above. Don't know why they're so insistent on obvious falsity but I guess that's the time we live in now.

The person above posted the instructions for Denuvo activation and had nothing to do with what I said, neither does DRM, it has nothing to with DRM.

Go and read Valve’s instructions for offline mode, they make it very clear that games need to be launched once in online mode before they can be launched in offline mode.

... Denuvo is DRM. DRM is related to the discussion because I'm saying only games with DRM need to be launched once before offline play, because they check for proper ownership.

Other games do not require this. Millions of Steam Deck users playing indie games can attest to this. Hell, you can test yourself if you have other games. You are simply wrong, no ifs ands or butts. Most games will allow you to launch immediately after install in offline mode.

If you want to be dense and not verify the incorrect information you're giving people, that's fine. But to people who may stumble across this discussion let me be clear. DRM games (Denuvo included because that's what it is...) do require an initial online connection. SOME DRM games require constant connection or regular checkups. Non-DRM games can be played in offline mode immediately after installing. Denuvo is not the only DRM around, and some are in-house simple activation checks.

That is all. I can only try and dig through so much dense material before I succumb to the futile nature of it, so respond if you want but... This is so incredibly easy to verify that maybe you should spend a minute or two doing so.

[Spartacus]

This is why I mainly play on my console, unless I have no choice to play on PC. I lost internet during a Steam update, and it was out for a few days. As a result, I could not play any of my PC games at all. Yet I could still play my Xbox games on PC, play my PS5, and my Nintendo.

[Bun]

Originally posted by Spartacus:

This is why I mainly play on my console, unless I have no choice to play on PC. I lost internet during a Steam update, and it was out for a few days. As a result, I could not play any of my PC games at all. Yet I could still play my Xbox games on PC, play my PS5, and my Nintendo.

If this happens, put Steam into offline mode. Hit the "Steam" button very top-left, then choose "Go Offline". Your games will work then (or at least the vast majority will). Why Steam doesn't automatically go into this mode when there's no internet after all these years is beyond me.

Do the same steps to enable online mode when internet is restored.

https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/0E18-319B-E34B-B2C8

[John27]

Originally posted by Videogame Jukebox:

At the launch of a game a validation of the offline token is performed.
If the offline token is invalid or missing, an appropriate request code is generated based on the system environment and sent to an online server.
The online server responds with a corresponding response code.
The local anti-tamper component uses the response code to write a new valid offline token to the local storage drive.
The game continues to launch along with the now valid offline token.
On subsequent launches the anti-tamper protection will automatically load and make use of the offline token stored on the storage drive, up until said token is made invalid again.

If the online connection fails the user will get a manual "offline"
activation option where they can make use of a secondary online connected device to retrieve the corresponding response code, an option not available for either Origin, Uplay, or possibly other supported platforms either. The availability of this second option means a local token generator is theoretically possible for a fully offline procedure, as was confirmed in 2017 with the release of an unofficial offline token generator

Even if it were to get locked you can easily unlock it with another device.

https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Denuvo

The bad actors are so bad at lying its just laughable.

It's been almost 10 years and never once did i got kicked from a legitimately owned and played Denuvo game. Of course this begs question for non-Windows systems like Steam Deck...