Hello, dear Elder Scrolls fans!

I love this series, played all the games for endless hours, but haven't had time to play any games for a while. Now I read about Skyrim and it looks fantastic, I really want to play this game, but I got some problems, which I consider bugs, although they are clearly intended. Now I know this has been discussed before, as a lot of people have similar issues, but some questions are not yet answered.
Problem:
First of all I will not install Steam, for security and privacy reasons. It just got compromised, which every security conscious person predicted from the first days of it and there are other issues. Secondly my Windows does not get an internet connection, same reasons. (Please no discussions or flamewars about this, it's only my personal opinion and should just be treated as premise to my questions.)
Questions:
Will there ever be a version of Skyrim, that works without Steam and without an internet connection? It is a single player game after all. I don't need to play it right now, I can wait a while, but it really would be appreciated.
What happens if they shut down Steam, Valve goes bankrupt, etc.? Will I be able to get my Skyrim DVD from the closet, install and play it like I do with a lot of my old games?
Who in the world thought it would be a good idea to require Steam and an internet connection to play a single player game? A lot of people will not buy the game because of this and some might even consider alternative methods of acquiring it. Please do not quote the same old "copy protection" reason, we all should know by now that that's a myth. On the other hand personal informations are worth a lot, Facebook makes billions with the data they collect from their members, but this cannot be the only reason for Bethesda to antagonize their fans and customers.

Thanks for reading, constructive answer will be much appreciated!

I disagree with your position with Steam, but I'll respect your decision.
It is a Steamworks game and will be one until Valve goes under or disbands the Steam department.

As per Steams EULA ( I believe its in there). If Steam or Valve goes bankrupt they are required to release the code that disables Steamworks allows all Steamworks games to be played without Steam (client).

Menu Steam -> Go Offline
Play.

Simple as that^^.
Wont get any achievements though.

You need to log in to Steam only once to install activate the game and then use it in offline mode. You don't need to use Steam as a social site.

Steam is used to
1. discourage pirates
2. discourage resellers
3. auto-install patches
4. Allow easy DLC installation for the "casual" user.
5. Advertise the game by means of "Achievements"

When Steam shuts down, gamesas (or someone else) might provide other means to get the game running, means we're not allowed to talk about right now.

That is all fine but that still requires that you have Steam running and logging your gameplay in the background -- EVEN in Offline mode Steam is running on the system ! Which also means that you have had to create an account with STEAM and give them your personal information including credit card info !! ( and as you know their Forum is currently still down because it was hacked and the hackers compromised their security and got all of the customer info that was on the system including all personal and credit card info (yesparts of it is encrypted and they are not sure if it will ever be used for identity theft but it is a real possibility !)

What the OP is wanting is to play without it running at all or even being installed on his system. (afterall the game is a single player game and there is no reason at all for the internet connection to be needed ( You say it is needed for the DRM but you do realize the game was cracked and the Steam DRM disabled by the pirates 20+ hours before the US official release time was reached so using STEAM for a DRM scheme was an utter failure since the pirates already are enjoying the game with the steam restrictions completely removed ( and even the patch is already available to them as well !) So instead of paying all of that money to use Steam they could have used it to hire more Programmers and BETA testers and get the UI and shadows implemented properly.

Also while Valve may have said they would somehow enable using the games if they ever went Bankrupt there is no way to enforce that and if the company goes broke there is no money to actually implement that so them saying so may make you feel better but there is no way to ensure it will happen and if for some reason Valve decides you have done something even if you have not they can Ban your entire account and you lose access to every game you purchased from them with no recourse.

I admit, Steam has some upsides and useful features, but I think security and privacy outweigh ease of use. At least I'd like the choice between using Steam or buying the game in retail.
The EULA part is nice, but sadly in no way legally binding, so it doesn't help even if they go bankrupt.


1. Obviously doesn't work.
2. This is another way of restricting the consumer's rights. Thank you very much!
3. Can easily be done by the game itself.
4. Same as above and doing it manually is really not that hard.
5. Okay, for this something like Steam might be required. It doesn't have much to do with the gameplay and I don't see the benefit, but that is probably due to my restricted point of view. As it stands these "Achievements" are optional, so the point is moot.

Exactly my point, plus no one can say what would happen, if Valve gets bought!
And if they go bankrupt, the rights to their products will most probable get sold, so even if Steam gets shut down using other methods to get the now defunctional games running is still illegal! You will be a criminal for playing your bought games.
The longer I think and talk about this, the less I like it.
Thanks for your help guys, but I think, I'll skip this game and play my old, legal ones until the companies understand, that the people buying their games are actually the ones they punish with their restrictions.

I understand your concerns about Steam, but I don't think it's a requirement to give your CC details. You only do that if you purchase through Steam, all you need is an email, a username and a password.

1. Steam DD IMHO legitimized downloading & through that lessened piracy somewhat as it opened up a market but Steam on disc (Steamworks) makes it harder on many as it assumes all have a fast stable connection which is simply not true & as such may even contribute to piracy

2. yes & that's not a good thing IMHO

3. I would rather have control of which patch my single-player games use so I don't have to be stuck with an unplayable game

4. installing DLC typically isn't very hard

5. if you truly offline those are pointless are they not?

And I believe Bethesda does/should have the authority to release a Steamfree version if they choose to or their attorneys aren't very good as that has happened already Mount & blade warband started out as a full steamworks title (just like Skyrim) but due to the community backlash the company released on their own site a Steamfree version for download.

& please check out the link in my sig if you want learn more about others take on Steam

There is some really really weird thing i just figured out you can do with Skyrim. After you install it via steam, you can go into the game folder, and run the game exe, and then it will be played without steam. I don't know if it is a bug or not, but atleast for me, i do not need to use steam to play it, since i can just run the exe from the folder.

Unfortunately not. There is nothing in the EULA that says so.
People often say Valve have said so, that they will release a steamless-patch, but somehow I never got a source to this when I ask.
Guess it's just a rumour.

Actually they even say the opposite in the EULA
"In the case of a one-time purchase of a product license (e.g., purchase of a single game) from Valve, Valve may choose to terminate or cancel your Subscription in its entirety or may terminate or cancel only a portion of the Subscription (e.g., access to the software via Steam) and Valve may, but is not obligated to, provide access (for a limited period of time) to the download of a stand-alone version of the software and content associated with such one-time purchase."

Maybe, but there's no guarantee that you can play the games afterwards, as you have absolutely no rights.
"You understand and agree that the cancellation of your Account or a particular Subscription is your sole right and remedy with respect to any dispute with Valve."
http://store.steampowered.com/subscriber_agreement/english/