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[Grief.exe]

GFWL and Securom has now been fully patched out of Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, and Bioshock 2. Both Warner and 2K granted free DLC to previous owners of the games. Now we can look forward to more games removing restrictive DRM into the future.

Arkham GFWL Removal Thread: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=698911
Bioshock 2 GFWL Removal Thread: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=690065

UPDATES:

This just posted, Capcom to remove GFWL as well

http://steamcommunity.com/app/21690/...38082544346928

• GFWL/Securom removed from both versions.
• Achievements added to AA
• Mac version added to AC
• Retail versions should now activate on Steam (system not implemented yet, stay patient)
• If you owned the vanilla versions of AA or AC, the GOTY version will now be added to your account

Important Batman Arkham Announcement

OCTOBER 17 - ERIK.MILLER

Dear Batman Arkham Fans - Microsoft has begun the process of closing down Windows Live services over the next year. To make sure there is no interrupted service, we will be moving the game to Steam for verification and update services for both the Base and GOTY versions of Batman Arkham Asylum and Batman Arkham City.

If you purchased either of the games on Steam all you have to do is let Steam download the latest patch and you will be fine.

If you purchased the games somewhere else you will need to enter the code in Steam. (You can find steps to do this on the bottom of this.

Unfortunately, you will not be able to continue playing from your current save. You will need to start a new game.

Going forward you do not have to worry about where you stored that disc. If you switch computers or go to a friend’s house you simply need to download Steam, log into your account, then go to the library and select to install your game.

The following link can be used to learn more about Steam and to download Steam:

http://store.steampowered.com/about/

To enter your CD Key in Steam please do the following:

1. Click ADD A GAME....

2. Select Activate a Product on Steam..

3. Click Next.

4. Click I Agree.

5. Enter your CD Key and select next once the game finishes downloading you will be able to play the game.

http://steamcommunity.com/games/200260/announcements/detail/1909817119598626547

Minerva's Den released on Steam!

This might be the big one guys, this just popped up on Registry

less than a minute ago Removed SupportsCDKeyCopyToClipboard – 1
less than a minute ago Removed ShowCDKeyOnLaunch – 1
less than a minute ago Removed LegacyKeyRegistryLocation – HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Valve\TestApp8850\SteamKey
less than a minute ago Removed LegacyKeyRegistrationMethod – registry

Will make a new thread if confirmed.

Huge news! This is, honestly, probably one of the largest pieces of evidence we have seen yet.

This update just went through for Arkham City

• less than a minute ago Added showcdkeyonlaunch_macos – 0
• less than a minute ago Added showcdkeyinmenu_macos – 0
• less than a minute ago Changed changenumber – 259930 › 259939
• 9 minutes ago Removed cddbfingerprint – -693650002
• 9 minutes ago Changed LegacyKeyRegistryLocation –
• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Valve\TestApp200260\SteamKey › HKEY_CURRENT_USER

They turned off showing cd key on launch, which is a necessity for GFWL games.

From what I can tell, they also completely removed where the CD Key was previously stored. If they remove the key, then Securom's registry entry cannot reference it properly for activation limits. Need a little more evidence on this one.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SecuROM

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\SecuROM.

Minerva's Den DLC has been added to the Registry. Two forms are going to be available for purchase, standalone and in a pack with Bioshock 2.

Just added to Bioshock 2

branches/2kgamescontrollerbeta/buildid: 100996

Looks like it is finally getting proper controller support.

ORIGINAL POST:

Little caveat before I dive into the thread, the removal of GFWL and Securom is speculation on my part. I will get into the evidence surrounding this removal later in the thread.

I have been discussing this in the Steam thread for quite awhile, but figured it was time to bring this to the attention of GAF as a whole. Let people know this is going to happen, and open it up for discussion.

Achievements

Both Arkham Asylum and Bioshock 2 added Steam Achievements to the client a few months ago, but have not activated them as of yet.
Arkham City has had Steam Achievements since release, but was not a Steamworks game. They layered GFWL and Securom on top of that.

Its important to note that the Steam Achievements reference Minerva's Den, so they will either be adding it to the Steam Store or adding it to the base game free of charge.
Right now you can't purchase Minerva's Den through Steam. You have to go to the Xbox store, add in Microsoft points, and purchase from the GFWL store.



Registry Updates

All three games began seeing updates about a month ago. They began very slowly, but the past couple weeks both AC and Bioshock 2 are seeing multiple updates a day.
It is possible they are trying to coincide the rerelease with the Steam Summer Sale.

There are two separate beta builds for the Bioshock 2 entry. One for the singleplayer game, and one for the multiplayer game, labeled Digital Extremes as that studio did the multiplayer for Bioshock 2.
I sent them an email inquiring about the changes and they seemed to have no idea what was going on.

DRM

The removal of GFWL and Securom is pure speculation on my part.
Moving away from GFWL actually has some evidence, though circumstantial. The removal of Securom is just wishful thinking.

GFWL is on its way out. Very few games this year have been published with the DRM, and the major Publishers that have been holding out, WB, Namco, and Capcom, have all dropped the service for their future titles.
Even Microsoft has stopped publishing games with the service. Mark of the Ninja, Dust: An Elysian Tail, AoE II HD,

Spoiler

Halo Trilogy

, Deadlight, etc.
There has been one exception, but that was because the port was ready for a long time and just waiting to be released.

Halo 2 GFWL multiplayer support will shut down in the near future. Along with Halo 3, there have been Steam rumors floating around for both titles.
GFWL will likely be dropped in favor of dedicated servers and Steamworks. It is cheaper for Microsoft to let the community worry about server upkeep.

 

[Lupin the Third]

The removal of GFWL and Securom is pure speculation on my part.
Moving away from GFWL actually has some evidence, though circumstantial. The removal of Securom is just wishful thinking.

If the DRM removal is speculation, you should not state it as fact in the thread title.

Something like "(Removing GFWL/Securom?)" would be much more honest.

 

[Grief.exe]

If the DRM removal is speculation, you should not state it as fact in the thread title.

Something like "(Removing GFWL/Securom?)" would be much more honest.

Got that covered, first line of thread:

Little caveat before I dive into the thread, the removal of GFWL and Securom is speculation on my part. I will get into that later, but I wanted to clarify because the title would only let me fit in so many characters.

I did run out of characters so I couldn't fit the question mark in.

I'll PM a mod and remove a comma or something.

 

[truestatic]

I didn't really NEED an excuse to replay any of these games, but I'm glad to have it. Securom's install limitation bullshit and GFWL's hassle have been big drawbacks that I've had to add as an asterisk every time I recommend these games to anyone. So happy I can now tell friends to buy them on steam without any reservation.

Edit: Ah, speculation on the DRM removal. The caveat remains, then.

 

[jetsetrez]

Bad thread title.

 

[kuYuri]

It would be nice if these games could somehow read my GFWL achievements and retroactively unlock the Steam achievements, but I suppose that would be asking too much!

 

[Anth0ny]

Awesome if true.

 

[ezekial45]

Does that mean we'll get Minerva's Den for steam as well?

Please?

 

[Dog Problems]

If this does indeed happen, I hope other games do the same. Iron Brigade, in particular, is the one I want to have GFWL removed from because apparently it's what is making the multiplayer unplayable over a "scrap bug."

 

[Mupod]

Funny, 'cause I bought Bioshock 2 for 5 bucks ages ago but forgot about GFWL. That kinda put me off it and I never even got past the title screen.

I never finished Arkham City either. As far as excuses to start it up again, getting rid of GFWL wouldn't be the worst.

 

[Card Boy]

Terrible thread title.

 

[Macho Madness]

Awwww can't earn gamerscore on these games anymore?

 

[Grief.exe]

I PM'd a mod about the thread title, sorry ran out of characters so couldn't fit any explanation for the DRM removal.

I figured out a way to trim down and add in a question mark.

Does that mean we'll get Minerva's Den for steam as well?

Please?

I forgot to mention that in the thread, I will add it now.

Right now you can't purchase Minerva's Den through Steam. You have to go to the Xbox store, add in Microsoft points, and purchase from the GFWL store.
Massive hassle.

The Steam Achievements reference Minerva's Den, so they will either be adding it to the Steam Store or adding it to the base game free of charge.

 

[faceless007]

If they go through with this, I hope (though it's probably just wishful thinking) they also release a DRM removal patch for the non-Steam versions as well. Or just have a way for us to get a Steam code for the same game.

Doubt it'll happen though.

 

[Visualante2]

Was the initial release of Skulls of the Shogun a GFWL title?

I'm hopeful, for me the bigger deal breaker remains Securom. If they go back and work on the game and leave it in, then that's a sad state of affairs. It really serves no purpose at this point because they've made most of their money on the game now. Perhaps they would be contractually obliged to stick with it... either way. GFWL was never the barrier for me on either title.

Feels like my best hope is a standalone Steam release of Minerva's Den.

 

[Stronghammer22]

Awwww can't earn gamerscore on these games anymore?

If anything happens, it's more likely to be the Toy Soldiers way. By which I mean, when you boot up the game you will get to choose between Steamworks and GFWL.

 

[Grief.exe]

Was the initial release of Skulls of the Shogun a GFWL title?

I'm hopeful, for me the bigger deal breaker remains Securom. If they go back and work on the game and leave it in, then that's a sad state of affairs. It really serves no purpose at this point because they've made most of their money on the game now. Perhaps they would be contractually obliged to stick with it... either way. GFWL was never the barrier for me on either title.

Feels like my best hope is a standalone Steam release of Minerva's Den.

Not sure of the initial release of Skulls of the Shogan on the Windows 8 store, but the Steam version is full Steamworks.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/228960/

 

[Grief.exe]

Thanks to Cyan for fixing the thread title.

Always seems to come through for me on title changes.

 

[Salsa]

I played Bioshock 2 right before Infinite came out so im not likely to replay that, but I might just replay Asylum for like the fourth time.

I'll definetly buy/play Minerva's Den tho.

 

[$h@d0w]

Awwww can't earn gamerscore on these games anymore?

I finished Bioshock 2 and the Minerva DLC a few weeks ago, I could earn achievements fine but logging in took so long.

I hate GFW, they don't ever discount their games either.

 

[Grief.exe]

I finished Bioshock 2 and the Minerva DLC a few weeks ago, I could earn achievements fine but logging in took so long.

I hate GFW, they don't ever discount their games either.

GFWL has been having some serious issues lately.

 

[Leks]

If Arkham Asylum become full Steamworks, I will replay it just to have all the achievements on Steam.

Was the initial release of Skulls of the Shogun a GFWL title?

It is "Xbox Windows". I don't know what it means but, like GfWL, you need a Microsoft account.

 

[Visualante2]

I finished Bioshock 2 and the Minerva DLC a few weeks ago, I could earn achievements fine but logging in took so long.

I hate GFW, they don't ever discount their games either.

Minerva's Den has been on sale many times, weirdly it has had a price drop in the US to 400 but remains 800 in the UK.

 

[matrix-cat]

I noticed this the last time I replayed Batman. It's taking them a while, but I look forward to S-Ranking Arkham Asylum for the third time (PS3, GFWL Achievements and now Steam).

 

[szaromir]

I bought Bioshock 2 on Steam and Minerva's Den on XBL. I wonder if I lose access to MD if they switch from Microsoft's to Valve's DRM?

 

[AcceptableGhost]

I really hope Microsoft isn't planning to shut down GFWL, mostly because there is no way Capcom will go back and redo those games with Steamworks.

Edit: I don't care if they update it, just that they keep the servers going.

 

[Grief.exe]

I bought Bioshock 2 on Steam and Minerva's Den on XBL. I wonder if I lose access to MD if they switch from Microsoft's to Valve's DRM?

No way for me to tell at the moment.

Best case scenario is obviously they just make Bioshock 2 the GOTY version and just make all of the DLC available if you own the game.
Would be fair for people who had previously bought the DLC via GFWL.

I wouldn't blame them for charging us for Minerva's Den. Would help finance the update and bring in some more revenue for an old title.

 

[AcceptableGhost]

I bet the amount of people who bought Minerva's Den through GFWL is probably like double digits.

 

[GamerJM]

Does that mean that I can't get extra gamerscore for the PC version?

Spoiler

>_>

 

[Lulubop]

Would finally buy AC if they removed those two things.

 

[JaseC]

Halo 2 MP is dead now, is it not? "Through June 2013" implies that the MP service was due to be shut down on July 1st.

 

[Grief.exe]

Halo 2 MP is dead now, is it not? "Through June 2013" implies that the MP service was due to be shut down on July 1st.

I played it the other day. No announcement yet on the future of Halo on PC.

My guess is they will have an announcement during Gamescom.

 

[Grief.exe]

Does that mean that I can't get extra gamerscore for the PC version?

Spoiler

>_>

GFWL will probably still be activate through the retail, version bought off the GFWL store, or other digital versions.

 

[JaseC]

I played it the other day. No announcement yet on the future of Halo on PC.

My guess is they will have an announcement during Gamescom.

Ah, odd that there was no separate announcement clarifying that the MP service was being left online.

 

[Grief.exe]

Ah, odd that there was no separate announcement clarifying that the MP service was being left online.

They will have to make an announcement for an exact date of closure since the extension was somewhat open ended.

The evidence is obviously pointing to a larger rerelease as well. IE Halo Trilogy release on Steam.

 

[AcceptableGhost]

Does Halo 1's online service still work?

 

[Grief.exe]

Does Halo 1's online service still work?

It does still work.

There is some issues with the netcode in that version, but it is very solid.

 

[Macho Madness]

Does Halo 1's online service still work?

It's ran through GameSpy and you can connect via IP I think.

 

[Grayman]

Interesting. I have been thinking of giving arkham city another shot but I can wait to see if gfwl is pulled out.

 

[SpankmasterC]

I was actually expecting something at E3, not at the main Microsoft conference but on the show floor. But it makes sense to announce plans at Gamescom, seeing as Europe and Germany specifically are very fond of the PC.

 

[Grief.exe]

I was actually expecting something at E3, not at the main Microsoft conference but on the show floor. But it makes sense to announce plans at Gamescom, seeing as Europe and Germany specifically are very fond of the PC.

Microsoft is going to have several booths dedicated to PC gaming

Unrelated, but Valve is going to be there as well.

 

[catabarez]

Microsoft is going to have several booths dedicated to PC gaming

Unrelated, but Valve is going to be there as well.

Is it unrelated?

Is it?

 

[Grief.exe]

Is it unrelated?

Is it?

Half-Life 3 and Halo 3 both confirmed for Steam on the same day.

 

[Grief.exe]

I'm headed off to bed, I'll keep this thread updated as updates roll in, and hopefully eventually release.

9 hours

http://www.gaben.tv/

 

[alexandros]

Half-Life 3 and Halo 3 both confirmed for Steam on the same day.

Gabe Newell steps up on stage and says:

"Hi I'm Gabe, I'd like to announce that HL3 is finally coming..."

[thunderous applause, cheering and tears of joy]

"...and by HL3 I mean of course Halo 3."

 

[Grayman]

Gabe Newell steps up on stage and says:

"Hi I'm Gabe, I'd like to announce that HL3 is finally coming..."

[thunderous applause, cheering and tears of joy]

"...and by HL3 I mean of course Halo 3."

somehow stretch it out with long analogies between valve and bungie and this would be great.

 

[danielcw]

Arkham City has had Steam Achievements since release, but was not a Steamworks game.

It is possible to have Steam Achievements without Steamworks?

 

[bs000]

I hope it's optional. As much hate as GFWL gets, I never really had problems with it and I like being able to add to my existing gamerscore.

 

[Zushin]

Fingers crossed it's true, and happens promptly.

 

[JaseC]

It is possible to have Steam Achievements without Steamworks?

Achievements are a component of Steamworks. The Steam version of Arkham City uses Steamworks for this purpose, but it's not a "Steamworks game" in the generally-understood sense that all copies of the game require Steam to run.