On Steam and Epic Games, a feature has been removed from almost all games of the publisher 2K that has annoyed many players for years. They are now happy.
Which feature is it? The game publisher 2K has always included a feature in its games that provided little benefit to players: an automatic startup of the in-house 2K launcher. For most players, it was just a program that prevented them from launching the actual game.
While the launcher did provide an overview of their own games and a store, those who purchased their games on Steam or Epic Games hardly used these features. 2K seems to have realized this as well.
A game that you can now play without any detours is Mafia 2: Definitive Edition; you can find the trailer for the game here:
Annoying feature is being removed
What has been removed? The 2K launcher, which launched every time you wanted to play a game from the publisher, has been discontinued. In an announcement on their website (via support.2k.com), the developers state that the launcher is being discontinued. In the future, when you start the games, you will be taken directly into the game instead of the 2K launcher.
Another launcher, the so-called “2K Launcher Beta,” which was only available with the game “Sid Meier’s Civilization V,” has also been shut down. However, other games are also affected, such as:
- The BioShock series
- The Quarry
- The Mafia: Definitive Edition Trilogy
- Marvel’s Midnight Suns
- and other 2K brand games
For some titles like XCOM 2 and XCOM: Chimera Squad, you will need to take some additional steps to remove the launcher. The publisher has created help articles on these games on their website (via support.2k.com) that explain how to remove the launcher there. However, for many games, just restarting Steam and a small update will be enough to play them without the launcher in the future.
How is the community reacting to the discontinuation? The community is happy that the launcher is history. It seems to be less about the launcher itself and more about the general phenomenon of these programs. Players are expressing their desire for the end of further launchers in the comments.
- TheTerminatorQc via Reddit: “Rockstar Launcher next, please.”
- @DarkFury1424 via X.com: “Launchers need to disappear. There should be no need for them, they are annoying and no one cares about them. There is a much higher chance I will spend additional money on your game for DLC if developers just remove the damn launchers.”
- Umbruh_Prime via Reddit: “Now we need to get rid of the rest of them.”
So far, there are no indications that other publishers plan to discontinue their launchers. Many voices are especially talking about the Rockstar Launcher, which is likely a thorn in the side of most. Whether a launcher will also be used with GTA 6 remains to be seen. A former developer of GTA 6 explains what phase the game is currently in.
