This also works with any Unity game which prefers to launch through a launcher.
If it’s an online game, like an MMO, they might put your account on timeout if you keep playing some outdated version of the game, though.
Comment on Why do games like Minecraft require a launcher?
Zonetrooper@lemmy.world 2 weeks agoTechnically you don’t need it, but it makes it a little easier for the developers and the users.
For that matter, if you poke around in some games’ files, you can find the actual game.exe and launch it directly from there, bypassing the launcher. You just bypass the authentication and compatibility checking as well.
lord_ryvan@ttrpg.network 1 week ago
Zonetrooper@lemmy.world 1 week ago
I’m honestly surprised you can even connect to an MMO with an out-of-date client. On the few I’ve played, at least, a version mismatch is an automatic refusal to connect.
lord_ryvan@ttrpg.network 6 days ago
I’ve had Black Desert letting me play a bit with an outdated version (I didn’t know there were updates, I hadn’t used the launcher for a while) but it gave my account a time out of 10 days after my play session.
I was also surprised it didn’t just go “Nope, update first!” immediately, I kind of expected that would be the case if I didn’t use the launcher.
TachyonTele@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
That, my friends, is also how you play games from the epic store. And how to bypass steam as well.
bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 2 weeks ago
Doesn’t work with every game, though. Some have DRM that depends on the launcher and/or authentication.
TachyonTele@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
Obviously not every game. Multiplay games won’t work with it. And yes anything that inherently depends on the launcher. The vast majority of games it does work though.
9bananas@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
that’s not actually a guarantee: BG3 has multiplayer and works just fine without the launcher. as do plenty of others.
mx_smith@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Also when running and playing games on Linux I find that starting directly from the exe can cause compatability issues.