Posted April 04, 2020
high rated
It's well known that a small percentage of Steam games do not require the Steam client, as shown in the excellent Steam games you can play without the Steam client list. It's less well known that Epic Games have an even larger percentage (relative to the store's catalogue) of similar games. Since information for Epic Games DRM has been scattered across multiple topics which combined with a 'less than optimal' GOG forum search makes it hard to find, this thread will attempt to present it in a clearer format:-
Epic Store games you can play without the Epic Launcher:-
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16BjnaBO40vkt6kFVl0QWMWVh86UFnr-j_yWhQbASJ58/edit?usp=sharing
The spreadsheet format follows the "Steam games you can play without the Steam client" formatting, ie, "Win / Mac / Lin" = Windows, Mac and Linux. A tick = DRM-Free, a * = partially DRM'd (especially only DLC requires the client), a ? = unknown / untested and a - (hyphen) = "unavailable for this OS" (usually for Mac / Linux). Notes = Anything that's important, related or a tweak that's required to run. If a game works client-less without any tweaking, this will be left blank for overall improved readability.
Valid Games for the list : Any game that runs 100% offline without any client, doesn't ask for login details, isn't locked to hardware and is "portable" post initial-download. Any game that has alternative means of running, eg, a game whose DRM can be sidestepped via a DRM-Free source port will be considered similar to how the above linked Steam list works.
Invalid Games for the list : Any game that requires any client / launcher (including 3rd parties such as uPlay, Origin and Rockstar), asks for login details, needs to connect to the Internet to function post initial-download or any game with 3rd party DRM (Denuvo, Arxan, VMProtect, etc). Online multi-player games will naturally be excluded, so no Fortnite, etc.
How to Test:-
1. Download a game via the Epic Games Launcher, then close the Launcher. Make sure it's not running in the background (no icon in the tray area or running in Task Manager)
IMPORTANT UPDATE : Due to Epic Online Services saving Epic Game Launcher login credentials to Windows Credentials if the game is run outside the launcher, it is highly preferable (maybe even required) to now test games either using a 2nd PC (that never had Epic Game Launcher run) just by copying the game folder over without installing any client on it, or at least test on a separate Windows account (that has no Epic Launcher credentials stored) to rule out the game potentially failing later on if it can't "sign in" silently, and isn't truly portable.
2. Temporarily rename C:\Program Files (x86)\Epic Games\Launcher\Portal\Binaries\Win32\EpicGamesLauncher.exe to something else
3. Start the game directly via its .exe (usually in a sub-folder in C:\Program Files\Epic Games) to see if the game starts up. NB: The Start Menu shortcuts created by the Epic Launcher are actually URL's that call the launcher rather than proper direct shortcuts, so you will need to start the game either directly via its .exe or create your own proper Start Menu link. Ideally if you have 2 or more PC's, the games could be downloaded on one and tested on another (preferably offline) to rule out any potential Epic Store equivalent of Steam's CEG (locking games to specific motherboards) or storing data in the Windows registry.
4. If it fails to start by default then sometimes a tweak may be needed, eg, try adding one of the two common command line switches -EpicPortal or /c=.. -AUTH_LOGIN=unused to your shortcut link and see if that works.
5. If it works without the Epic Game client running, and after checking it isn't already listed, just add a post to this thread saying, eg, "X game works perfectly with no tweaks needed" or "X game works but required the -EpicPortal command line switch", etc. If you are testing a non-Windows version (Mac or Linux), please state that to avoid confusion. Don't forget to rename the Launcher back.
No Politics:-
This list is meant to be a similar resource to the Steam version for those who already don't mind using the Epic Games Launcher to grab the files once and from then on, use / archive them in a DRM-Free manner (eg, you can zip the game folder up and unzip it at a later date on an upgraded PC / OS reinstall without ever requiring the client to reinstall / play the game again). This is particularly true considering the large amount of surprising high quality games that have been given away for free over the past year. I'd like to see this thread stay on topic rather than degenerate into Epic vs Steam flame wars, complaints about Epic exclusives, "what is DRM?", etc. There are other threads here for those debates.
Community Participation:-
Just like the Steam equivalent thread, I'd like this to be an ongoing community effort that won't "fizzle out" due to dumping all the workload on one person, so aside from welcoming as many contributors as possible to test & add games here, given the collaborative nature of Google Sheets I would also like to add a couple of trusted regulars here who regularly acquire Epic Freebies, test their DRM-ness and have a GMail account, to share the workload as maintainers / editors of the spreadsheet (which should be a lower workload than the Steam version anyway due to the much smaller catalogue size).
Thank you, and happy client-free gaming!
Edit : I'd also just like to say thank you in advance now to everyone helping to maintain the list and testing / contributing games on the list, rather than clutter up the thread with a stream of individual thank yous in response to each future post.
Epic Store games you can play without the Epic Launcher:-
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16BjnaBO40vkt6kFVl0QWMWVh86UFnr-j_yWhQbASJ58/edit?usp=sharing
The spreadsheet format follows the "Steam games you can play without the Steam client" formatting, ie, "Win / Mac / Lin" = Windows, Mac and Linux. A tick = DRM-Free, a * = partially DRM'd (especially only DLC requires the client), a ? = unknown / untested and a - (hyphen) = "unavailable for this OS" (usually for Mac / Linux). Notes = Anything that's important, related or a tweak that's required to run. If a game works client-less without any tweaking, this will be left blank for overall improved readability.
Valid Games for the list : Any game that runs 100% offline without any client, doesn't ask for login details, isn't locked to hardware and is "portable" post initial-download. Any game that has alternative means of running, eg, a game whose DRM can be sidestepped via a DRM-Free source port will be considered similar to how the above linked Steam list works.
Invalid Games for the list : Any game that requires any client / launcher (including 3rd parties such as uPlay, Origin and Rockstar), asks for login details, needs to connect to the Internet to function post initial-download or any game with 3rd party DRM (Denuvo, Arxan, VMProtect, etc). Online multi-player games will naturally be excluded, so no Fortnite, etc.
How to Test:-
1. Download a game via the Epic Games Launcher, then close the Launcher. Make sure it's not running in the background (no icon in the tray area or running in Task Manager)
IMPORTANT UPDATE : Due to Epic Online Services saving Epic Game Launcher login credentials to Windows Credentials if the game is run outside the launcher, it is highly preferable (maybe even required) to now test games either using a 2nd PC (that never had Epic Game Launcher run) just by copying the game folder over without installing any client on it, or at least test on a separate Windows account (that has no Epic Launcher credentials stored) to rule out the game potentially failing later on if it can't "sign in" silently, and isn't truly portable.
2. Temporarily rename C:\Program Files (x86)\Epic Games\Launcher\Portal\Binaries\Win32\EpicGamesLauncher.exe to something else
3. Start the game directly via its .exe (usually in a sub-folder in C:\Program Files\Epic Games) to see if the game starts up. NB: The Start Menu shortcuts created by the Epic Launcher are actually URL's that call the launcher rather than proper direct shortcuts, so you will need to start the game either directly via its .exe or create your own proper Start Menu link. Ideally if you have 2 or more PC's, the games could be downloaded on one and tested on another (preferably offline) to rule out any potential Epic Store equivalent of Steam's CEG (locking games to specific motherboards) or storing data in the Windows registry.
4. If it fails to start by default then sometimes a tweak may be needed, eg, try adding one of the two common command line switches -EpicPortal or /c=.. -AUTH_LOGIN=unused to your shortcut link and see if that works.
5. If it works without the Epic Game client running, and after checking it isn't already listed, just add a post to this thread saying, eg, "X game works perfectly with no tweaks needed" or "X game works but required the -EpicPortal command line switch", etc. If you are testing a non-Windows version (Mac or Linux), please state that to avoid confusion. Don't forget to rename the Launcher back.
No Politics:-
This list is meant to be a similar resource to the Steam version for those who already don't mind using the Epic Games Launcher to grab the files once and from then on, use / archive them in a DRM-Free manner (eg, you can zip the game folder up and unzip it at a later date on an upgraded PC / OS reinstall without ever requiring the client to reinstall / play the game again). This is particularly true considering the large amount of surprising high quality games that have been given away for free over the past year. I'd like to see this thread stay on topic rather than degenerate into Epic vs Steam flame wars, complaints about Epic exclusives, "what is DRM?", etc. There are other threads here for those debates.
Community Participation:-
Just like the Steam equivalent thread, I'd like this to be an ongoing community effort that won't "fizzle out" due to dumping all the workload on one person, so aside from welcoming as many contributors as possible to test & add games here, given the collaborative nature of Google Sheets I would also like to add a couple of trusted regulars here who regularly acquire Epic Freebies, test their DRM-ness and have a GMail account, to share the workload as maintainers / editors of the spreadsheet (which should be a lower workload than the Steam version anyway due to the much smaller catalogue size).
Thank you, and happy client-free gaming!
Edit : I'd also just like to say thank you in advance now to everyone helping to maintain the list and testing / contributing games on the list, rather than clutter up the thread with a stream of individual thank yous in response to each future post.
Post edited September 23, 2021 by AB2012