2K Games has retired the launcher from all of its PC games as part of a “complete software sunset”, which means PC gamers can now launch all 2K games directly on Steam.
The 2K launcher was forced on players playing the company’s games on PC, including Firaxis’ Civilization 5, Mafia Trilogy Definitive Edition, and XCOM 2. Following an update this month, the 2K launcher was removed from all games that used it on Epic and Steam. 2K also removed 2K Launcher Beta, a completely separate launcher, from Civilization 5.
This means that Bioshock Remastered, Bioshock 2 Remastered, Bioshock Infinite, The Quarry and Marvel’s Midnight Suns will now launch directly in-game as soon as you click the Play button. Mafia Trilogy Definitive Edition games on Steam and Mafia Trilogy Definitive Edition games on Epic have slightly different paths to access the games.
The Civilization 6 launcher on Steam was removed earlier this year, so no additional steps are needed. However, in the case of Civilization 6 for Epic, it now opens directly in-game when launched from Epic. Meanwhile, Civilization 5 now uses Steam’s launch option to open the game.
XCOM 2 on Steam is a special case, 2K said: because the launcher included mod support. It’s worth noting that these changes will allow you to enable mods on Steam Deck. XCOM 2 on Epic will now open the original XCOM 2 mod launcher. XCOM: Chimera Squad also has an optional mod launcherwith an additional option to launch the game directly. Mods are also available on Steam Deck for Chimera Squad.
In blog post2K stated that it has replaced the 2KLauncher folder with a text file called 2kLauncherRemoved.txt that can be safely deleted. But there may be more to do – 2K says make sure the launcher is gone for good, close and reopen Steam, then restart your computer.
“We’ve already accomplished a lot, but there may be one more step left before you can make it home,” 2K explained. “First try closing and reopening Steam – this means closing it completely, not just using X to minimize the platform. Restarting your computer is a good way to make sure this has happened. For Epic, just make sure you download the latest game update.
This shouldn’t affect your saved games and you won’t lose access to any of your games as long as you purchased them on Steam or Epic. And for those (probably very few!) PC gamers who miss the 2K Launcher for some reason and want to keep using it, unfortunately it won’t be coming back. “We currently have no plans to enable optional setting of the 2K launcher, but we appreciate your interest,” 2K said.
The end of the 2K Launcher comes before the launch of Civilization 7 in February 2025. Civilization is typically one of the most popular games on PC, so fans can rest assured that they’ll be able to run it directly on Steam.
PC gamers have long criticized launchers from publishers including Ubisoft and EA that force themselves on players before they can even get into the game. However, it seems unlikely that the end of 2K Launcher will result in a mass removal of PC launchers, given that they are often used to save files to the cloud or storefronts.
Wesley is the UK news editor at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. Wesley can be reached at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
