For some, these versions are more than just "free games." In certain regions like India , some players have noted the game was occasionally unavailable on major platforms like Steam , leading them to seek out community-shared versions.
The specific version you mentioned——refers to a particular point in the game's long update history. In the PC gaming community, "cracks" by groups like CODEX became famous for allowing players to bypass digital rights management (DRM) to access the game and its various DLCs offline. For some, these versions are more than just "free games
Forums like r/PiratedGames and r/CrackSupport are filled with stories of users trying to find the elusive save file location (often hidden in the steam_emu.ini file) to carry over their progress from one version to another. Looking Forward For some, these versions are more than just "free games