Simple enough question.. will we be able to play a physical copy of Hunted without the disk in the computer's disk drive at all times?

I don't know about most people but this is a big deal for me. I love being able to just click on desktop shortcuts and jump straight into my games without having to bother with disks and all that jazz. At the same time I still prefer to own physical copies of my games for collection's sake, so downloading from digital services like Steam is not desirable. Too often I find myself having to pick one over the other, so naturally I love it when a game allows me to have both. Please tell me Hunted is one of those games.

The last 2 games that Bethesda published for PC (Rogue Warrior & Fallout: New Vegas) were both games that used Steamworks so they didn't need any DVD. Also, the upcoming Brink is also a Steamworks title.

While I'm not sure if Hunted: The Demon's Forge is a Steamworks title too, I would guess so.

True, Bethesda's record is exactly why I'm very hopeful about this title. Just hope we can get an official statement on the subject before its release as it will determine weather I will pre-order a physical copy or a digital one.

Looking at the boxshot this game will most likely be Games for Windows (not Live) as it has the logo on it. This doesn't discount it being Steamworks but I'm sure it would have been mentioned on the http://store.steampowered.com/app/22450/ by now
[img]http://img.chaptercheats.com/boxshot/57961.jpg[/img]

That doesn't really mean anything. All games released for Windows are "Games for Windows".

There's a big difference between Games for Windows and Games for Windows Live.

Games For Windows is a certification that basically means the game will run in Windows OSs, supports a number of specific resolutions, and can be played with a standard gamepad. Since the certification was created all of Bethesda's games released on the PC have been GFW titles and several have or will include Steamworks. Steamworks was only confirmed in Brink a few weeks ago, so about a month or so before release, so the fact that we haven't heard anything definitive about this for Hunted isn't telling.

actually thats wrong, the games for windows is a specific branding offered optionally by microsoft for pc games to help make them more identifiable, but its not required and many developers/publishers choose to not use it. instead many games are simply branded "PC DVD-ROM Software" http://www.gmkfreelogos.com/logos/P/img/PC_DVD-ROM.gif

doesn't make any difference with steamworks support though as far as im aware.