Tokyo_Bunny_8990: Thanks. Sorry, I was hoping to find out if you do buy a game with implemented DRM, what recourse do users have if the store goes down/server issues, etc regarding Epic?
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Oh, sorry, I got sidetracked there :D
I haven't looked at Epic's terms of service in detail, but I'd assume it says the same thing Steam's say: You effectively don't really BUY a game on these stores, you just RENT their services. Which means that if one of these stores go down, you lose access to your DRM'ed games and
you (probably) have no legal recourse against the store.
On a practical level, if one of these stores goes down and you
try to start a game that normally requires the launcher, the game simply won't run in most cases. For Steam games, you can sometimes get around the launcher requirement by creating a txt file called "steam_appid.txt" which contains the game's Steam app ID. With Epic games, you can try adding the two command line switches which you'll find in the first post in this thread.
Speaking specifically of
always-on DRM, íf the store on which you bought your game goes down, you might still be able to play the game, but only if the developer/publisher keeps the servers going. Always-on is typically a sign that the game tries to contact an authentification server before it starts up (to check whether you legally own the game). These servers are usually run by the devs/pubs themselves, so they may be independent of the actual store where you bought the game. Of course, this also goes the other way around: If the EGS/Steam stays open but the authentification servers are taken down, you won't be able to play the game, either.
That being said, there is at least one example of a game that requires always-on, but still runs without it: Hitman tries to reach authentification servers and if it doesn't manage to do so, the game runs but it will prevent you from accessing most of its content.
Ultimately, any game you buy which has DRM carries with it the risk that you might lose access to it if the developer, the publisher or the store you bought it on decides to stop supporting the game (or if they go down). At that point, you're entirely depending on them to patch their game into a state where it can be run without the launcher or an internet connection. Alternatively, you could seek out less legal ways of preserving your game, but then you're reliant on those groups actually "supporting" the game, which might not be the case for less well-known games.
I can't really say anything about
Kingdom Hearts specifically, but I'd assume if it has always-on, the game either won't start without an active internet connection or it needs to have an internet connection to authenticate at least once and it might run without requiring a connection afterwards (I believe this system was used in the original Bioshock release, but I'm not sure if this is still a system used for games in 2021/2022). If you want to look into it yourself, I believe the EGS has a refund policy similar to Steam, so you can buy and download the game, cut your internet connection and check whether you can start the game. If you're not OK with the results of your test, you can refund the game as long as you're within the parameters of the EGS' refund policy.
EDIT: Forgot to mention this info: Many games these days are released with strong DRM, such as Denuvo, or with the always-on internet connection requirement, but those are sometimes patched out some time after release. Basically, many DRM schemes that go beyond a simple store launcher requirement are only in place to protect the game during its initial main sales period after release. Once the devs/publishers decide the game no longer makes a lot of money, they might drop their DRM - but that's not a guarantee and even if they do decide to get rid of the DRM, this will be many years after release.