4 ms·

Steam itself doesn't force DRM on a developer. As an SDK, it provides a very easy DRM platform to choose to use. They offer it, but it doesn't have to be utiliz

Steam itself doesn't force DRM on a developer. As an SDK, it provides a very easy DRM platform to choose to use. They offer it, but it doesn't have to be utilized.

Cyph0n 10y ago
Indeed, this is a common misconception for some reason. There are many games, especially those from indie developers, where Steam simply acts as a light wrapper for launching the game. You can literally copy the game files from your Steam folder to another PC and it would work fine.
- SXX 10y ago
  It's not misconception. Requirement to setup some proprietary software just to download your games makes Steam DRM no matter if it's enforced after download or no. Currently everything needed is reverse enginered so you can actually download games using open source tool, but I pretty sure this is forbidden by Steam EULA. Even if we all know Valve will unlikely enforce it it's still gray area you don't want depend on.
  - Cyph0n 10y ago
    I'll have to disagree, as I think you're taking the concept of DRM way too far. The fact that you need a client to download your game is not DRM, but it is inconvenient I suppose. DRM comes in when you cannot distribute your purchased game freely, and you're limited to a set number of PCs or installs. Still disagree? Let's look at GoG, the standard DRM-free game store. You need to login before you can download your games, correct? Would you call that a form of DRM? The difference between logging in and downloading a client is negligible in this day and age imo. If you don't agree with any of the above, then I'm afraid that the way you think of DRM-free gaming is only achievable through piracy.
    - optforfon 10y ago
      How are logging in and installing someone's software even remotely similar? I personally find Steam, buggy, ugly, intrusive and effectively spyware that is logging and tracking god knows what. I feel very uncomfortable installing it on my machines and in general having to go through software A to get to software B makes a lot of people uncomfortable. By contrast, logging in confines the the website to tracking my activity on the website itself - which they probably can do with a cookie anyways...
      - wtallis 10y ago
        > I feel very uncomfortable installing it on my machines and in general having to go through software A to get to software B makes a lot of people uncomfortable. The only difference between Steam and GoG is that GoG runs software A on their servers and in your browser, whereas Steam runs software A on your machine in the custom-skinned browser they give you. Any security or privacy ramifications of the two different approaches are quit irrelevant to a discussion of whether it constitutes DRM in the generally accepted sense of technical measures to prevent you from copying, sharing, etc. digital content that you already have in your possession. It's not DRM to require some authentication before they'll serve up the download to you. DRM is what gets in the way after the download.
        optforfon 10y ago
        I think I understand the distinction you're making. However I think it's only technically correct. I understand that I can boot up a VM with Steam, download the game, copy it from the VM to my machine that doesn't their software and it'll probably work. But that's in the realm of "technically possible but completely impractical". In practical terms I actuality have to run their software on my machine to have access to the software I buy through them.
        wtallis 10y ago
        The only difference between Steam and GoG is that your browser is already providing the VM to sandbox (albeit without hardware enforcement) GoG's code running on your machine, while for Steam you have to supply your own VM if you want that degree of isolation. (If you happened to be running Qubes OS then this matter of degrees of convenience would be trivial.) In either case, running some of the store's code on your machine in order to obtain the product is unavoidable. In neither case is it DRM.
  - nl 10y ago
    That isn't what DRM is. Proprietary APIs are a completely separate issue. You can have open source DRM (for example hardware enforced schemes).
- zanny 10y ago
  I think only like a half dozen of the 2 thousand Steam on Linux games actually use the Steam DRM as well, even titles that use Steamworks DRM on Windows.
  - Vexs 10y ago
    At this point there's not much reason to use it- linux game torrents are slim pickings.

Steam itself doesn't force DRM on a developer. As an SDK, it provides a very easy DRM platform to choose to use. They offer it, but it doesn't have to be utilized.

Cyph0n 10y ago

Indeed, this is a common misconception for some reason. There are many games, especially those from indie developers, where Steam simply acts as a light wrapper for launching the game. You can literally copy the game files from your Steam folder to another PC and it would work fine.

SXX 10y ago
It's not misconception. Requirement to setup some proprietary software just to download your games makes Steam DRM no matter if it's enforced after download or no. Currently everything needed is reverse enginered so you can actually download games using open source tool, but I pretty sure this is forbidden by Steam EULA. Even if we all know Valve will unlikely enforce it it's still gray area you don't want depend on.
- Cyph0n 10y ago
  I'll have to disagree, as I think you're taking the concept of DRM way too far. The fact that you need a client to download your game is not DRM, but it is inconvenient I suppose. DRM comes in when you cannot distribute your purchased game freely, and you're limited to a set number of PCs or installs. Still disagree? Let's look at GoG, the standard DRM-free game store. You need to login before you can download your games, correct? Would you call that a form of DRM? The difference between logging in and downloading a client is negligible in this day and age imo. If you don't agree with any of the above, then I'm afraid that the way you think of DRM-free gaming is only achievable through piracy.
  - optforfon 10y ago
    How are logging in and installing someone's software even remotely similar? I personally find Steam, buggy, ugly, intrusive and effectively spyware that is logging and tracking god knows what. I feel very uncomfortable installing it on my machines and in general having to go through software A to get to software B makes a lot of people uncomfortable. By contrast, logging in confines the the website to tracking my activity on the website itself - which they probably can do with a cookie anyways...
    - wtallis 10y ago
      > I feel very uncomfortable installing it on my machines and in general having to go through software A to get to software B makes a lot of people uncomfortable. The only difference between Steam and GoG is that GoG runs software A on their servers and in your browser, whereas Steam runs software A on your machine in the custom-skinned browser they give you. Any security or privacy ramifications of the two different approaches are quit irrelevant to a discussion of whether it constitutes DRM in the generally accepted sense of technical measures to prevent you from copying, sharing, etc. digital content that you already have in your possession. It's not DRM to require some authentication before they'll serve up the download to you. DRM is what gets in the way after the download.
      - optforfon 10y ago
        I think I understand the distinction you're making. However I think it's only technically correct. I understand that I can boot up a VM with Steam, download the game, copy it from the VM to my machine that doesn't their software and it'll probably work. But that's in the realm of "technically possible but completely impractical". In practical terms I actuality have to run their software on my machine to have access to the software I buy through them.
        wtallis 10y ago
        The only difference between Steam and GoG is that your browser is already providing the VM to sandbox (albeit without hardware enforcement) GoG's code running on your machine, while for Steam you have to supply your own VM if you want that degree of isolation. (If you happened to be running Qubes OS then this matter of degrees of convenience would be trivial.) In either case, running some of the store's code on your machine in order to obtain the product is unavoidable. In neither case is it DRM.
- nl 10y ago
  That isn't what DRM is. Proprietary APIs are a completely separate issue. You can have open source DRM (for example hardware enforced schemes).
zanny 10y ago
I think only like a half dozen of the 2 thousand Steam on Linux games actually use the Steam DRM as well, even titles that use Steamworks DRM on Windows.
- Vexs 10y ago
  At this point there's not much reason to use it- linux game torrents are slim pickings.