I'm sorry if this seems like a rant.

I'm getting fed up with Steam. I bought the disc and I expected it to just download and work.

Problem 1: The game would freeze, apparently I was launching Skyrim through the wrong Steam icon.

Problem 2: I went offline and the game refused to play until I signed into Steam, the offline option showed an error message.

Problem 3: I go to play Skyrim and now the game crashes as soon as I see the Bethesda logo.

Is there any way of playing Skyrim without having to deal with Steam's BS? I would have taken the game back a long time ago if I could.

No, you can not bypass Steam. Do not post a thread asking how to bypass the DRM. This game works in On and Off line modes in Steam just fine.


The game runs for everyone else with Steam. The fact that it is not even launching points to a hardware issue, like unsupported graphics. If you want to start a thread with your DXDIAG results in the Skyrim PC Hardware section to get some help, then do so.

But, don't even think about asking about bypassing Steam. You don't need to.