All Discussions > Steam Forums > Steam Discussions > Topic Details
Citizen Cook Oct 9, 2024 @ 1:49pm
Third Party Launchers
We all hate third party launchers on Steam, especially when they are forced upon us in single player only games.

But I’m wondering why these publishers are se hell bent on foisting them upon is, even at the expense of games sales.

What exactly are they getting out of it?
The author of this topic has marked a post as the answer to their question.
Click here to jump to that post.
Originally posted by ペンギン:
Originally posted by Citizen Cook:
We all hate third party launchers on Steam, especially when they are forced upon us in single player only games.

But I’m wondering why these publishers are se hell bent on foisting them upon is, even at the expense of games sales.

What exactly are they getting out of it?
Data and money.

Launchers these days are there for:
Advertising, referal/utm/campaign/funnel tracking/pixel, cookies, telemetry/metrics and spyware as well as for unnecessary ressource wasting, profiling, additional data mining (so called quality of life functions like newsletter, register or login functions which are often contaminated with other trackers) and redirects.

Some launchers are also only there to activate trackers and transfer them to the game via the given functions. That's why it's always worth trying to start a game directly from the installation directory. Serial number checking such as old Kalypso launchers did are no longer common these days. Would be unusual.

In short: Launchers have no value for customers.

Users also need to be careful, because if a publisher/dev says we are removing the launcher, this does not mean that the connections have automatically been changed. In other words, it's often everything the same, just invisible. Don't trust devs or publishers in this regard. Never. Customers are deceived by too many providers because they are too gullible.

The only "reasonable" reason would be DRM/copy protection measures or if the launcher is solely used to download assets from the internet. It’s also questionable why a launcher is necessary for this, especially when considering that download time could also count towards playtime (which is important for refunds).

Originally posted by Citizen Cook:
What sort of data are they harvesting, specifically?
I’ve analyzed enough of this so far, including launchers from 2K, Bethesda Softworks LLC, Epic Games, Inc., Ubisoft Entertainment S.A., Electronic Arts, Inc., Larian Studios and thousands of other products. If you want to know what data is being collected check out my profile, my reviews or my project page for more details in games and regulary software (which might trigger a false positive), but it’s virus-free and safe. It’s also linked on my profile.
< >
Showing 1-15 of 20 comments
Crazy Tiger Oct 9, 2024 @ 1:52pm 
"We"? Projecting much?

They want people in their ecosystem. Plus it's a way for them to advertise their other games.

I do think people overestimate the impact on the game sales. There is quite a large "no Steam, no buy" group who happily purchase those games (as shown when EA returned with their games).
#1
cSg|mc-Hotsauce Oct 9, 2024 @ 1:58pm 
Data harvesting.

:nkCool:
#2
Citizen Cook Oct 9, 2024 @ 2:00pm 
Originally posted by cSg|mc-Hotsauce:
Data harvesting.

:nkCool:

What sort of data are they harvesting, specifically?
#3
BJWyler Oct 9, 2024 @ 2:42pm 
I don't particularly hate third party launchers. In fact, there are several that I find quite convenient and have provided me with some useful information I wouldn't have otherwise known.
#4
Machine Gunn Eddie Oct 10, 2024 @ 7:42am 
Originally posted by Citizen Cook:
Originally posted by cSg|mc-Hotsauce:
Data harvesting.

:nkCool:

What sort of data are they harvesting, specifically?

Like this

https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/heres-another-headache-for-ubisoft-lawsuit-alleges-it-illegally-shared-ubisoft-store-customer-data-with-meta/
#5
ReBoot Oct 10, 2024 @ 7:55am 
Originally posted by Citizen Cook:
We all
Speak for yourself. I don't hate them and I'm as valid as a customer as you are. Don't make your opinion that of others!
Last edited by ReBoot; Oct 10, 2024 @ 8:05am
#6
Citizen Cook Oct 10, 2024 @ 8:04am 
Originally posted by Machine Gunn Eddie:
Originally posted by Citizen Cook:

What sort of data are they harvesting, specifically?

Like this

https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/heres-another-headache-for-ubisoft-lawsuit-alleges-it-illegally-shared-ubisoft-store-customer-data-with-meta/

Humm.🤔 I guess they can get more than we think. I never read the Eula, but do they tell you want they are doing with your data, specifically?

I found this:

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/epic-responds-to-accusations-of-steam-data-mining
Last edited by Citizen Cook; Oct 10, 2024 @ 8:06am
#7
Nx Machina Oct 10, 2024 @ 8:21am 
Originally posted by Citizen Cook:
We all hate third party launchers on Steam, especially when they are forced upon us in single player only games.

But I’m wondering why these publishers are se hell bent on foisting them upon is, even at the expense of games sales.

What exactly are they getting out of it?

We all? Was a survey sent out? No.

The launcher validates you have the licence to play that game on Steam as it is linked to a 3rd party account.
Last edited by Nx Machina; Oct 10, 2024 @ 12:14pm
#8
jiggy Oct 10, 2024 @ 9:14am 
They are not to be trusted eula they have no business in gaming third party is not good it was never this bad with rules
#9
Citizen Cook Oct 10, 2024 @ 10:56am 
Originally posted by jiggy:
They are not to be trusted eula they have no business in gaming third party is not good it was never this bad with rules

I never read em. I play in a TV screen. Trying to read all that text from my sofa literally gives me a migraine lol
#10
jiggy Oct 10, 2024 @ 1:21pm 
Look up Alex Hunter-lord of the mind under discussions Buyer Beware (the same thing just happen to me)
#11
Citizen Cook Oct 11, 2024 @ 2:56pm 
Originally posted by jiggy:
Look up Alex Hunter-lord of the mind under discussions Buyer Beware (the same thing just happen to me)

Can you give me the cliff notes?
#12
Chika Ogiue Oct 11, 2024 @ 3:00pm 
Originally posted by Citizen Cook:
We all hate third party launchers on Steam


You mean, we all hate Steam? Only games published by Valve are first party. For everything else, the third party launcher is Steam. So if you hate developers other than Valve using third party launchers, why are you using Steam?
#13
Dura_Ace Dec 8, 2024 @ 11:24pm 
I am locked out of a game now cos i failed to migrate the game to a new email address when i moved house.

Sure, it was my fault but i now have to wait on rockstar to "let me play" my paid for game.

The only reason they have their own launchers is to they can direct traffic to their store and make sales. DRM is not the reason. DRM is built into steam.

So buyers get locked out....pirates play.

As a matter of fact i will not be buying any more games with 3rd party launchers anymore. I dont care.

If all games had their own launchers then we would have books filled with written down passwords, nicknames, email addresses. Just so they can make money and collect data.
Last edited by Dura_Ace; Dec 8, 2024 @ 11:26pm
#14
Chika Ogiue Dec 8, 2024 @ 11:44pm 
Originally posted by Dura_Ace:
DRM is built into steam.

Anti-piracy protection is not built into Steam. As Valve themselves state in the Steamworks documentation:

The Steam DRM wrapper by itself is not an anti-piracy solution.

Developers and publishers are allowed to use alternative DRM schemes and are, in fact, encouraged to do so by Valve, again, as shown in the documentation:

The Steam wrapper can and should be used in combination with other DRM solutions.

https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/features/drm
Last edited by Chika Ogiue; Dec 8, 2024 @ 11:44pm
#15
< >
Showing 1-15 of 20 comments
Per page: 1530 50

All Discussions > Steam Forums > Steam Discussions > Topic Details
Date Posted: Oct 9, 2024 @ 1:49pm
Posts: 20
Start a New Discussion

Discussions Rules and Guidelines