Whether Fallout 3 or Fallout New Vegas is the better game has been the subject of much debate but there's one clear advantage the PC version of the Obsidian-helmed post-apocalyptic RPG had over its predecessor -- a complete lack of Games for Windows Live. That advantage has now been nullified.
A seemingly arbitrary new patch for 2008's Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition takes the first Fallout to eschew isometric, turn-based combat to version 1.7.0.4. The patch, announced via Steam, is tiny. It's a mere 5.4MB install but the update solves one of the sprawling RPG's greatest annoyances. Its sole purpose is to remove Microsoft's much-maligned Games for Windows Live from the apocalyptic adventure.
The patch notes are correspondingly brief. "Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition has been updated and no longer installs Games for Windows Live dependencies. If Fallout 3 was previously installed on Steam, we suggest uninstalling and reinstalling the title. The title no longer requires Games for Windows Live and will now launch."
There may still be other issues to overcome to convince Fallout 3 to function on Windows 7, 10, and 11 systems -- compatibility mode should be enabled and the game must be run as an administrator, to start with. The game also has an issue with processors that possess more than two cores, but that is easily solved now that Games for Windows Live has been dispensed with.
Games for Windows Live (GFWL) was an online service Microsoft launched in 2007 for PC games that allowed players access to the company's Live service, enabled voice chat, and added Xbox-style achievements to titles, among other features. PC gamers occasionally encountered issues as a result of GFWL's implementation, particularly when attempting to install games -- like Fallout 3, Grand Theft Auto IV, and Bulletstorm -- that required the software on Steam.
This was not improved by Microsoft shuttering the servers needed to authenticate its original versions of GFWL in 2020. Bypasses exist to get older, disc-based PC games working but they are frequently technical, requiring players to mod game files, perform additional installs, or take other unconventional action with regards to game installation. An update that patches out the need for the defunct service is much simpler, even if Microsoft is a little late to the party.
The simplest course of action is that taken by other, non-Microsoft titles that required Games for Windows Live. A collection of big-name games, including Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City, Bioshock 2, Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition, Dead Rising 2, Dirt 3, Resident Evil 5, and Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition, allowed players a one-time redemption of their physical keys for a digital one on the Steam marketplace. Those digital versions were subsequently installed without the need for Microsoft's middleware.
Source: Steam