Bypassing Steam – is it possible?

Bypassing Steam – What you need to know

In principle, it is possible to play on a PC whilst completely avoiding Steam. However, you’ll then have to do without numerous games, as these cannot run without Steam.

• Many games use Steam as a copy protection measure. To launch these, the Steam client must be installed on your PC. You must also link the game to your user account. There is no legal way to bypass Steam in this regard.
• If you buy a game directly from the Steam online shop, you can be sure that you’ll need to install the Steam client to play it.
• Even if you buy a game from another online shop, it may still need to be activated on Steam. If you do not wish to do this, you should be sure to check for relevant information on the shop’s website.
• Even many games purchased in retail shops require Steam. You can check the packaging to see whether a game needs to be activated on Steam.
• If you wish to avoid Steam, you can switch to distribution platforms such as Origin, uPlay or GOG. Games purchased there will then run without Steam, but (with the exception of GOG) require their own client software. However, there are significantly fewer games available on all three platforms than on Steam.