BioShock Infinite's Unexpected Update Broke the Game for Some Users
The games BioShock Infinite, BioShock Remastered and BioShock 2 Remastered have received an update on Steam that has broke them for some players.
Available on Steam, the PC version of BioShock Infinite unexpectedly received the first update in many years. Unfortunately, it broke the game for many users.
- The update added a new launcher with a store. It did not introduce any improvements to the game itselfm however.
- The patch must have messed something up in BioShock Infinite. Many players report, that the game has stopped running on Linux systems, which means that the game cannot be played on Steam Deck as well. Also, Windows users are reporting problems launching the game. These are most likely due to the fact that the game now requires a launcher, but cannot find one.
- A new launcher has also been added to BioShock Remastered and BioShock 2 Remastered, in which it causes the same problems. The originals of both of these games, however, have not been updated, so they work without issue.
- Gamers have made their frustration known by flooding games' product cards on Steam with negative reviews. There are so many of them that, counting the ratings of the last 30 days, only 62% praise BioShock Infinite, which is categorized as "mixed" reception. For comparison - the share of positive reviews in those given in all the years since the release is 94%.
BioShock Infinite was flooded on Steam with negative reviews on September 3, the day the update was released.
2K Games will presumably fix the problems quickly, but the optics of the whole situation are dire, especially since we're talking about old games that haven't been updated in years, and now they've been messed up just because the publisher wanted to make extra money.
How to get around the problems with running games
While waiting for an official fix, you can use a method to get around the problem developed by a fan going by the handle Xandros.
- In the folder with the game, create a new folder named "2KLauncher".
- In the "2KLauncher" folder, create an empty text file named LauncherPatcher.txt, and then change its extension to .exe. This will give you the "LauncherPatcher.exe" file, the absence of which is causing all these problems.
- In the Steam client, right-click on the game, enter its properties, and then in the launch options section, type: "BioShockInfinite" -run %command%.
