Can you buy DLC for a game that you download off of CD?

[121derp121]

When I got my new PC, Microsoft gave me $50 to spend on their store. I'm going to get Civ:BE, but Microsoft mails the game as a CD. My plan is to just download it off the CD then do the "add a non steam game" thing so it's in my library and easier to launch. But, I've heard that Rising Tide improves Civ:BE a lot and I want that as well.

So if I had Civ:BE added as a "non-steam game" because it's from a CD, will I be able to buy Rising Tide? I'm a little worried because I think Steam may not realize I have Civ:BE and tell me I need the base game.

 

[HandyVac]

The copy you get on disc is also a Steam game. The CD key you'll find on the piece of paper inside the box is exactly the same thing as the activation code you'd be emailed if you bought it as a download, so Steam does not make any distinction between the two.


In fact, Steam will usually try to download the entire game over the internet as soon as you type in that code, instead of loading any data from the disc in your DVD drive. To get it to actually install from the physical disc you need to restart Steam using a command line prompt as per this tutorial.

 

[Barathor]

No worries, I believe Steam is required to play the game. So, during installation, you'll be entering the code that comes with the boxed game. It'll then be added to your game library normally and you can just store the DVD box away. Have fun!

 

[Ryika]

General answer is no though, for games that have a steam- and a non-steam version you can not buy dlc from steam unless you have actually got a steam-version of the original game. Of course such games are rare these days anyway and as others have already said, there is no non-steam windows-version of the game.