The 2K Launcher Is Gone Forever, So You Can Launch Everything from Steam and Epic Games Store

The 2K launcher is no more. Many PC gamers will undoubtedly be overjoyed about the prospect of launching their favorite 2K games without having to go through that launcher, especially since it was even responsible for performance drops in some cases.

However, there are some steps to take to remove the 2K launcher from the various supported games. Thankfully, they were outlined in a helpful article on the dedicated 2K support page.

Removing the Launcher
The first thing is to try closing and reopening Steam – that means completely closing and not just using the X to minimize the platform. Rebooting your PC is a good way to be sure it happened. For Epic, just make sure you’ve downloaded the most recent update for the game.

Click Play and Go!
Bioshock Remastered, Bioshock 2 Remastered, Bioshock Infinite, The Quarry, and Marvel’s Midnight Suns will now all launch directly into the game as soon as you click Play.

Mafia Trilogy Definitive Edition
The Mafia Trilogy Definitive Edition games on Steam and the Mafia Trilogy Definitive Edition games on Epic will each have slightly different paths to getting into the games. Please see this article for more information.

Civilization VI
Civilization VI on Steam had the 2K launcher removed earlier this year, so no additional steps are needed. In the case of Civilization VI for Epic, it now directly opens into the game when launched from Epic. The version opened by default is the DirectX 11 version. If you would like to play the DX12 version, please see this article for instructions on how to open that version at launch instead.

Civilization V
Civilization V now uses the Steam Launch options to open the game. The order is the same as was present in the previous 2K launcher, so the default (top) option is “Play Sid Meier’s Civilization V (DirectX 9)”, followed by “Play Sid Meier’s Civilization V (DirectX 10/11)”, and “Play Sid Meier’s Civilization V (Touch)”. As with all Steam games that have launch options, the desktop shortcut will always open the default option, in this case, the DirectX 9 version. For more details, read this.

XCOM 2
XCOM 2 for Steam is a special case, as the 2K launcher included Mod support functionality. You can read more about this here. Of note, these changes will let you enable mods on the Steam Deck! XCOM 2 on Epic will now open the Original XCOM 2 Mod Launcher, detailed in the linked article above.

XCOM: Chimera Squad
XCOM: Chimera Squad also has the Mod launcher as optional, with a secondary option available to directly launch the game. Mods are also available on Steam Deck for Chimera Squad as well, but please see our dedicated article for some important information.