The 2K launcher is gone

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2K Games has officially removed its launcher from all PC games.
Users cited performance issues and lack of mod support as to why the launcher was clunky.
Players can now access 2K games directly from Steam and Epic.

The sun has officially set on 2K games access platform, 2K Launcher, the company officially killing add-on software for all its games. 2K Games didn't offer a specific motivation behind the move, but the proprietary launchers were the rage of some players.

Segments of the gaming community have cited the performance loss and lack of mod support as the main reasons they're excited to see the 2K launcher go the way of the dinosaur. Certain Steam Deck compatibility issues that previously required Proton to resolve are another commonly cited issue that the company claims is resolved with the new access protocol.

2K Games will soon announce a new franchise

A recent report from Take-Two Interactive says that 2K Games will announce its next project soon, but there's no word on what it will be.

In a blog post in October 2024, 2K had initially announced the imminent removal of the 2K launcher from all of its PC titles. Updated on November 25, 2024, the post now confirms that all PC games have been cross-platform exempt. Civilization 6 removed the launcher earlier this year, but the latest update also removes the for Sid Meier's Civilization 5who used 2K Launcher Beta. With the launcher gone, players can now run 2K games directly from Steam and Epic with full access to all builds and mods for each particular title.

2K Launcher closes

According to the company, the 2K Launcher folder on users' computers will be replaced with a text file called 2kLauncherRemoved.txt, which can be safely deleted. To ensure the new setup works properly, 2K urges players to relaunch any relevant software, restart their computers, and ensure the current version of software is installed for Epic and Steam. There may still be some files that can be removed using the steps described in a document linked to in the blog post.

2K also noted that different games will experience different changes with the Launcher disabled, with a number of options to get into each of the titles. Among them are XCOM 2, XCOM: Chimera Squadall titles from bioshock franchise, Civilization 6, Mafia Trilogy Definitive Editionand many others. With XCOM 2 now available on mobile, simplified access for desktop users can drive more game traffic to the platform.

With players expressing their excitement on Reddit and other platforms about the removal of the 2K Launcher, more publishers may take the hint and consider removing proprietary launchers as well. And given the PC gaming community's excessive focus on performance, the removal of memory-hungry bloatware would be a welcome move for many gamers.