Places to purchase PC Games without Steam?

[zerocontrast]

I'm sure this has been asked before, but I tried searching several times online and even on the forum here, with no good results.

I haven't really gamed much in the past...15 years or so, but still I've been aware of Steam since shortly after it's appearance. There've been a few games on PC I've seen here and there that I'd like to get, especially collections of retro console games, but I'd rather avoid Steam or other stores/services that have a launcher/installer/portal required to access, or even play, your games. Being that I make music in my spare time, I'm all to familiar with launcher/installer apps and I prefer to avoid them any chance I get. I understand Steam games only run via the Steam app.

Are there any alternatives still around? While a hard copy would be great, I understand that's pretty far-fetched nowadays, but I'd like to at least get a direct download of whatever I buy so I can install and run it when I want without bloatware or the risk of the company I purchased it from essentially stealing it from me because it's become unavailable due to squabbles with developers (which I've read has happened on Steam several times).

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

 

[DXCHASE]

Outside of nefarious ways to get a game to work on your pc completely offline without a launcher, no, not really. You are pretty much tied to one for PC gaming nowadays. You could always build yourself a retro pc with a disc drive and play your old games. Theres ways to do that still.

There are a lot of web-based games out there where they run right off their website but then that depends on the games you want to play.

Im sure others might have better suggestions, but you are going to have to download a launcher, imo, to enjoy pc gaming.

Also welcome to the forum!

 

[Pifanjr]

Outside of nefarious ways to get a game to work on your pc completely offline without a launcher, no, not really. You are pretty much tied to one for PC gaming nowadays. You could always build yourself a retro pc with a disc drive and play your old games. Theres ways to do that still.

There are a lot of web-based games out there where they run right off their website but then that depends on the games you want to play.

Im sure others might have better suggestions, but you are going to have to download a launcher, imo, to enjoy pc gaming.

Also welcome to the forum!

Did you forget about GOG? Their whole shtick is that the games they sell have no DRM and don't need a launcher. Though I'm not 100% sure this holds for every single game they sell, so it wouldn't hurt to double check or keep your eyes open for a notice on the game's store page.

 

[ZedClampet]

I'm sure this has been asked before, but I tried searching several times online and even on the forum here, with no good results.

I haven't really gamed much in the past...15 years or so, but still I've been aware of Steam since shortly after it's appearance. There've been a few games on PC I've seen here and there that I'd like to get, especially collections of retro console games, but I'd rather avoid Steam or other stores/services that have a launcher/installer/portal required to access, or even play, your games. Being that I make music in my spare time, I'm all to familiar with launcher/installer apps and I prefer to avoid them any chance I get. I understand Steam games only run via the Steam app.

Are there any alternatives still around? While a hard copy would be great, I understand that's pretty far-fetched nowadays, but I'd like to at least get a direct download of whatever I buy so I can install and run it when I want without bloatware or the risk of the company I purchased it from essentially stealing it from me because it's become unavailable due to squabbles with developers (which I've read has happened on Steam several times).

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

If you are serious about gaming on PC, then you'll get over your fear of Steam's launcher.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

@zerocontrast I get where youre coming from I remember feeling the same about Steam when HL2 forced you to get it. These days its just where all my games are collected and its just a nice way to organize your game library. The apps really lightweight, you can set it not to start on boot if you prefer.

I dont know where youve heard about games disappearing though. There are games that got delisted due to licensing issues or whatever but if you bought them already you can still download and play them through Steam afaik.

 

[Johnway]

as pifanjr mentions GoG allows you to play your games offline essentially you're creating a backup of the files onto your machine:

https://support.gog.com/hc/en-us/articles/213148105-How-do-I-download-my-purchased-items?product=gog

i don't believe you need to sign into GOG to play them. It will ask you to, but you don't have to.

 

[DXCHASE]

Did you forget about GOG? Their whole shtick is that the games they sell have no DRM and don't need a launcher. Though I'm not 100% sure this holds for every single game they sell, so it wouldn't hurt to double check or keep your eyes open for a notice on the game's store page.

No, because like you said, you probably are going to need their launcher for something if you are going to use games from it. He wasnt asking about DRM, if that were the case id mention this one by name, but gog galaxy, imo, is needed more than its not when gaming with it.

Even if you can avoid using it, youre still going to need to go there and download it/purchase it and this guy was referring to not doing that stuff.

or the risk of the company I purchased it from essentially stealing it from me because it's become unavailable due to squabbles with developers (which I've read has happened on Steam several times).

FYI, you can still play games that have been de-listed for whatever reason if you have purchased them. What you read is that there was some content taken away on Sonys platform that users had already paid for. That doesnt happen on steam to my knowledge because i do own games that are still playable that arent listed on steam.

 

[Zloth]

I dont know where youve heard about games disappearing though. There are games that got delisted due to licensing issues or whatever but if you bought them already you can still download and play them through Steam afaik.

I think it can happen, though I'm not sure if it ever has. I could see them doing that if a game is infested with some sort of virus delivery system, if the game has child porn in it, or some other extreme case like that.

I don't believe any games need GOG's launcher and CD Projekt is pretty hard core about not including DRM. You can download your game direct from their website, including an installer program, so you don't even need to use their Galaxy app to install.

That said, the apps for Steam and Galaxy are pretty nice. They help you keep your apps updated, they provide overlays to make it easy to take screenshots, they deal with achievement recording, and so on.

 

[Zimbaly]

One thing I've noticed is when some companies release games. They sell physical copies on their site. Depending if there's a certain game ya want. I'd check the company/game site and see if they sell a disc. I usually find it with smaller studios and such though.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I think it can happen, though I'm not sure if it ever has. I could see them doing that if a game is infested with some sort of virus delivery system, if the game has child porn in it, or some other extreme case like that.

That would be justified then. I know they've delisted stuff for sale due to music licenses expiring but it was still available to to those who had bought it already.

 

[zerocontrast]

Outside of nefarious ways to get a game to work on your pc completely offline without a launcher, no, not really. You are pretty much tied to one for PC gaming nowadays. You could always build yourself a retro pc with a disc drive and play your old games. Theres ways to do that still.

There are a lot of web-based games out there where they run right off their website but then that depends on the games you want to play.

Im sure others might have better suggestions, but you are going to have to download a launcher, imo, to enjoy pc gaming.

Also welcome to the forum!

Hey thanks for the reply, and the welcome. Yeah sounds like (aside from ROMs or old abandonware games) you might be right.

 

[zerocontrast]

Did you forget about GOG? Their whole shtick is that the games they sell have no DRM and don't need a launcher. Though I'm not 100% sure this holds for every single game they sell, so it wouldn't hurt to double check or keep your eyes open for a notice on the game's store page.

Good to know. I saw GOG when I was Googling but at a very cursory glance, thought they were more of the same.

 

[zerocontrast]

If you are serious about gaming on PC, then you'll get over your fear of Steam's launcher.

Fair enough, however I am not. I'm only looking into it now mainly inspired by hearing of a few interesting retro game releases and since I don't have a Switch, thought the PC might be an alternative to just using emulators.

 

[zerocontrast]

FYI, you can still play games that have been de-listed for whatever reason if you have purchased them. What you read is that there was some content taken away on Sonys platform that users had already paid for. That doesnt happen on steam to my knowledge because i do own games that are still playable that arent listed on steam.

That's good to know. I've had music software that was superseded by new software and the developers removed the option to download the old software from their website. In that case I was lucky to find an exe of the program on an old laptop. Had that program relied on a launcher only (like some programs do unfortunately), I would have been ass-out completely. Good to know Steam still keeps up even the stuff that's delisted.

 

[zerocontrast]

@zerocontrast I get where youre coming from I remember feeling the same about Steam when HL2 forced you to get it. These days its just where all my games are collected and its just a nice way to organize your game library. The apps really lightweight, you can set it not to start on boot if you prefer.

I dont know where youve heard about games disappearing though. There are games that got delisted due to licensing issues or whatever but if you bought them already you can still download and play them through Steam afaik.

All good stuff to know. Especially the last part about things still being available. Being at the mercy of the a company to access things I've already bought is my biggest hesitation.

 

[zerocontrast]

One thing I've noticed is when some companies release games. They sell physical copies on their site. Depending if there's a certain game ya want. I'd check the company/game site and see if they sell a disc. I usually find it with smaller studios and such though.

Good to know this is still a thing. The game that sparked the interest was the Megaman Legacy Collection (which has been out a while now of course, and obviously from a huge company). I checked Capcom's website but the only purchase option now was through Steam.

 

[ZedClampet]

Fair enough, however I am not. I'm only looking into it now mainly inspired by hearing of a few interesting retro game releases and since I don't have a Switch, thought the PC might be an alternative to just using emulators.

Depending on which retro games you are talking about, check Gog.com. Launcher isn't required. No DRM. Just download and store them somewhere. If you ever lose them, just go back to Gog and redownload them. It's better than physical, which deteriorates over time.

Megaman won't be there, though, if it's via Capcom due to the lack of DRM. Other games you are looking for might be there, though

As far as physical copies, the only place I can get those in the city I live is through a used book store that also carries old games.

 

[Frindis]

While I don't think you can get many official retro games on itch.io you can get TONS of retro-themed ones and even some made new through the use of older consoles + music/soundtrack with retro music if that could be of interest. Everything is yours to keep when bought and they also have a lot of free stuff you can download and play around with.

 

[LexDiamonds81]

OP - I am with you for the most part. I dont do much Steam at all. I ended up buying an old PC to play a few of the classics. I highly recommend !

 

[DXCHASE]

OP - I am with you for the most part. I dont do much Steam at all. I ended up buying an old PC to play a few of the classics. I highly recommend !

This goes back to my suggestion that you can still either build or buy a pc with cd drives, floppys etc. I actually like seeing old set ups still in use. Plenty of groups on social media and the internet that you can easily get working parts for an older pc still. I should know, im apart of a couple lol.

 

[zerocontrast]

OP - I am with you for the most part. I dont do much Steam at all. I ended up buying an old PC to play a few of the classics. I highly recommend !

Interesting idea. Granted most of the classics I was thinking about were console games that've been released in collections on PC (and other new consoles). But I'm curious why the need for an old PC, is it to have the floppy drive? Because in general, PC is the one gaming option that's (nearly) always backward compatible.

 

[Brian Boru]

why the need for an old PC, is it to have the floppy drive?

No, you can buy cheap external floppy drives.

 

[BeardyHat]

Worth it to note that there are actually quite a few games on GoG with DRM or external launcher still. Still like GoG and buy from them regularly, but even they aren't totally pure from the stain.

 

[Brian Boru]

like GoG and buy from them regularly

Same here, if the game's mods are available outside of Steam Workshop.

Not a great look to have Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3 - Wild Hunt on that list

Post includes 'clarification' from 'a GOG blue'—what is that, a staffer?—which says:

"All games available on GOG have offline installers available. We stay in touch with the partners and do our best to keep them up to date. However, video games continue to evolve with many titles offering online modes, cosmetics, and incentives for completing certain actions by players. This might be subjective, but as long as these additional features and rewards do not affect the single-player offline experience in a major way, we believe that the developers and publishers should be free to design and sell their games in a way they choose."

My reading is that they're saying that as long as main SP game is playable without the DRM elements, they're okay with extras being DRMed. As they say, games have devolved into a continuous drip of cash grabbing, so I can sympathize with their desire to be able to hold onto titles.

 

[Smellincoffee]

Good to know. I saw GOG when I was Googling but at a very cursory glance, thought they were more of the same.

They have a launcher (GOG Galaxy), but I never use it to launch my GOG games. They have a lot of retro titles, too, which was their original niche.