Well, shit. I sense a pretty big spanner suddenly appearing in our works.

I read that as "Robert Frost" and was incredibly confused for a few seconds there.

We'll probably have to just go ahead and do the testing on another computer altogether, as was suggested quite some time ago by a Swiss gentleman whose name escapes me. Damn you, scientific method.

I can confirm Victoria II being DRM-free.

So that would imply that LoG on Steam has a modified exe that isn't the same as the DRM free one. It would mean that technically the game is DRM free as it can be run without Steam, but if it does find Steam then it forces to use it (which sort of makes sense as you get play stats and achievements) but a true DRM free version would give you the choice and not try to enforce the use of Steam.

So, is this a kind of pseudo-DRM-free?

Difficult to say really. I wouldn't really classify it as DRM in the sense that it makes very little effort to manage the user's or licensor's rights. It really is very difficult to fall foul of the DRM. The only problem you may have is if you have Steam installed AND you have no valid account available, and to be honest, I'm not even sure if that would be a problem. I can't check now because I'm writing from Linux, but It may be worth looking to see if Steam may cause any kind of problem in this regard.

For now, let's call it DRM-optional, a feature set that attempts to use Steamworks features but falls back to a Steamless version in the event that the game cannot use them. Which, at the end of the day, is was Steam ought to be, not the noose around gamers' necks that it is at present.

By the way, Torchlight II can be added to the bin of games which requires steam

I think I literally just shed a tear after reading this. :(

Anyone happen to pick up Critter Crunch on Steam? The game's website was encouraging people to go get the newest Humble Bundle, so I'd be shocked if it actually requires Steam, but who knows?

Also, according to at least one person on GameFAQs, it looks like you don't need Steam to run Jet Set Radio:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/662139-jet-set-radio/64100213

you can get it directly from runic (http://www.torchlight2game.com/) if you want it without Steam, not sure if they use other DRM

Yeah, they still make you log in for an online verification after you install it. It's like Steam without Steam.

I have some serious concerns about this interpretation of portable install files as DRM-free. As far as I understand it, the installation is a critical part of a program, as in, if you cannot install it you cannot use it, or, at least, use it properly. Some have already mentioned problems with specific titles, for instance. On the other hand, you can hardly speak about installations on flash games, so maybe those do count as DRM-free? But other than that, I consider the ability to install a game a necessary guaranty to consider it DRM-free.

Additionally, another topic that does not receive discussion enough is that of multiplayer functionalities. For me, if the game does not include a complete server client, it is DRM, because you depend on someone to play all the functionalities of the game. For example, if there is a scoreboard, and that scoreboard can only be setup by Steam or by the publisher behind the title, that is a functionality the player cannot use by her/himself (by setting up a server for a group of friends to host the scoreboard, for instance).

Good for you.

That's the definition this list was built on. If you don't like it, there's nothing I can do about it. Nice of you to stop by, but if you want to have a discussion on this, please don't have it here. Thank you.

But I don't want to wait for the next "Is Steam DRM" discussion, I always arrive late, :(

Ok, I'll look somewhere else. ButIdisagreewithyourdefinitionofDRM-free, *runs*

Thanks for compiling this list. Bookmarked. I think it would be useful to have a "don't require Steam" list, as opposed to just DRM-free. That is, if a game has DRM but doesn't require Steam, I'd like to know that. That could mean that I'll be able to run it even if Steam dies a horrible death, and that's useful information to know.