As every major publisher (EA, Rockstar, Blizzard) released their own proprietary software, players began to suffer from "launcher fatigue." This led to the rise of third-party universal launchers.
: Your progress is uploaded to a remote server, allowing you to pick up where you left off on a different computer. game launcher
The market is currently divided between platform-wide launchers and publisher-specific clients. As every major publisher (EA, Rockstar, Blizzard) released
: They ensure games are patched to the latest version before you play, preventing version mismatches in multiplayer. As every major publisher (EA
: The industry leader, offering over 100,000 games and robust social features like Steam Workshop for mods and community hubs.