Why Am I Asked to Install Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime on Launch?

[Hedge]

Players may be prompted to install a Microsoft Edge WebView2[blogs.windows.com] runtime on launch. This is a simple runtime installation used to provide web-based content in the launcher - it is not spyware, and will not install the Microsoft Edge browser.

For more information, please see Microsoft Edge WebView2 and Microsoft 365 Apps[docs.microsoft.com].

[Solus]

Good to know.

[Untyr]

Curious about this. Seems like a hybrid app approach similar to capacitor on mobile. But why Edge WebView2 of all things ( e.g. vs chromium)? Does this come with a framework you are using?

[O_T]

Personally I just deleted webview2's exe from the Vermintide folder, don't get a prompt anymore and everything works fine.
As far as I can tell, it's just for the advertisements in the launcher. When starting without it, the launcher is using a more or less clean background. It's a little monotonous colored without this but in my eyes it's much better then the extreme flashy version from before. Additionally it's much easier to find the options, which is the main purpose of the launcher, which makes the launcher better than before.

[Xasthur]

Simplified launcher still looks better. It's like a candy, you just can't resist.

[hydralisk_mk2]

Can I play without installing this Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime?

[Next $hot]

Originally posted by O_T:

Personally I just deleted webview2's exe from the Vermintide folder

Thanks =) Hope this will not be a mandatory action after each update

[Emilia Tempest]

Originally posted by hydralisk_mk2:

Can I play without installing this Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime?

from what I heard, yes, but you only get a plain old launcher instead of the fancy one with displayed guides, news and so on.
So far havent heard that it causes other issues.

[Neon Noodles]

Originally posted by O_T:

Personally I just deleted webview2's exe from the Vermintide folder, don't get a prompt anymore and everything works fine.

Just wanted to highlight the full sentence here. This is good information.

Directory is:

Drive:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Warhammer Vermintide 2\launcher

The file should be in there.

[recurvedshedua]

This is unfortunate. While I don't consider my gaming PC to be too security hardened, mainly because I don't consider entertainment software to be developed with security in mind, what I do not want is unnecessary runtimes and third party software installed.

I am in the IT industry too Fatshark, in recent years sitting on security scanners and doing remediations. Many vulnerabilities show up in unmaintained or outdated third party packages that get installed with other software. And often times we have to reach out to the vendor which is simply unaware or doesn't care about that information.

After clicking yes on this WebView UAC prompt and seeing a fancy 2 day counter tick down, I decided to close Vermintide launcher and take a peek.

In case anyone is interested, on Windows 10 I noticed the following after a quick look around the file system:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeWebView (464mb folder created)
C:\Users\yourusername\AppData\Roaming\Fatshark\Vermintide 2\EBWebView (27mb folder created)
1x MS Edge task added in the task scheduler

Then went ahead and uninstalled this runtime. Deleted the EBWebView folder manually in the Vermintide 2 location listed above. And from now on will click no on the WebView UAC prompt, then close the failed WebView installer, which seems to load me into a basic launcher with no timer and graphics.

Well I guess play time has been spent tonight.

[Hedge]

Originally posted by recurvedshedua:

I am in the IT industry too Fatshark, in recent years sitting on security scanners and doing remediations. Many vulnerabilities show up in unmaintained or outdated third party packages that get installed with other software. And often times we have to reach out to the vendor which is simply unaware or doesn't care about that information.

I feel ye. This runtime is maintained by the OS in so much as it's a Microsoft runtime, akin to the C runtime libraries we also invoke installation of when the game is first run, or the redists are updated. Most users who keep their Win 10 OS up to date would have already had this runtime installed by proxy of having had OS updates. So it's not so much a third party dependency for anyone running a Microsoft operating system, which is 99.99% of Vermintide 2 players.

[The Darkened Soul]

Originally posted by Fatshark Hedge:

Originally posted by recurvedshedua:

I am in the IT industry too Fatshark, in recent years sitting on security scanners and doing remediations. Many vulnerabilities show up in unmaintained or outdated third party packages that get installed with other software. And often times we have to reach out to the vendor which is simply unaware or doesn't care about that information.

I feel ye. This runtime is maintained by the OS in so much as it's a Microsoft runtime, akin to the C runtime libraries we also invoke installation of when the game is first run, or the redists are updated. Most users who keep their Win 10 OS up to date would have already had this runtime installed by proxy of having had OS updates. So it's not so much a third party dependency for anyone running a Microsoft operating system, which is 99.99% of Vermintide 2 players.

For me, when I play Vermintide now, it fires up Microsoft Skype, Xbox Gamebar, Your Phone, and Microsoft Edge Update. Why it fires those up, I don't know.

[uzze]

Still not getting it.

[Negim]

i dont know what this does but my frames dropped after this edgy update

[harmlessratz]

not getting it even if my life depended on it

[Ashur]

Uh fatshark can you please add an option to opt out of this rather than force people to delete stuff? I go to news sites for my news. I got to my game for the game. I don't want microsoft edge or any parts of it.