If you purchased BioShock 2 via Steam and preloaded it last night or early this morning and are trying to play it and are instead seeing this SecuROM DRM serial-number activation screen:
and thinking “hu? What serial number?!” then I’m here to help. Go back to your “My Games” screen in Steam, right-click on BioShock 2 and go to “View game CD key“:
That’s right, it’s not called “serial number” anywhere in the interface. Also Steam gives you no pre-emptive popup about the CD key for the game until after you have started it. That’s excellent, good delivery guys.
If you try and click the provided link from SecuROM in the popup dialog, it just takes you to this page that explains how activation works — cause that’s what I wanted to know. Not activate my game and play it, no, I’d rather learn how different DRM techniques work. Thanks guys!
omg thank you so much
Apt2B, did you run into this too? I was totally stumped when I hit this and I’m of average intelligence… I couldn’t believe 2k/Valve was so OK shipping such a shit experience with a triple-A title.
Dude, this was exactly the solution I was looking for, thanks!
You are my hero.
Thanks.
Thanks! 2K messed this up big time.
Good Thanks.
Don’t know about everyone else, but I had a dialog popup in steam with the serial as soon as I launched the game for the first time.
thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx thx
OMG THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Author wins the internet. THANKS!
Oh look, the information that I actually require before it will let me do anything. Thankfully 2K neglected to mention this until after one can find this information.
Many thanks, kind sir!
I love you. I spend ages emailing support and getting stupid auto replies about the same crappy advice “look on the back of the manual her derp” even though it’s digital, and steam didn’t email me the code like you said.
Thank you so much, I was shitting bricks
Quezz, glad we could help!
Geht dies auch bei dem ersten Teil?
oh boy you just saved my life. Its way too hot to go outside and I was looking forward to an evening imagining I was under water. Thanks!
hahah, Mara glad we could help.
Thanks! It’s absolutely mind-boggling that they would let this product ship without giving concise, ACCURATE instructions on how to jump through the hoops to get this game running.
Joe, glad I could help.
I also noticed that every other game I bought over steam *does* have very concise instructions for the game key, but for some reason BioShock 2 just got dropped on it’s head… it’s a really sloppy install/launch/key sequence.
Thanks so much, you saved my day!
Janna, glad I could help.
Thanks! I’m having all kinds of problems with Bioshock 2 from steam working. First this Visual C++ 2005 thing with with vcredist.msi (which I seem to have got past, but not sure). Then it starts up with this serial number and you helped with that. Why they don’t tell you in the pop up is beyond me.
Now I’m getting a ‘SecuLuancher: failed to start application’ error. Getting real close to asking Valve for my money back.
David,
That error is a SecureRom (the DRM) load error — are you running any TSRs used to circumvent securerom that might be interfering?
No, not trying to circumvent anything. Purchased off Steam. Found the problem it was with install. The Visual C++ was from the game itself. I couldn’t delete it from add/remove. And guess it failed during the first install. But found when tried to run the one from bioshock 2 folder that it did exact same thing about asking for disk 1. So I went into regedit and told it that Visual C++ didn’t exist anymore. Then was gone from add/remove. So then double clicked on the one from Bioshock 2 folder and this time it worked and installed properly. So was able to play the game.
Other problem later was with that stupid Windows Live doodoo. So created local account so could save games.
Not sure ever going to buy an game from them again. Lot of problems getting it going and such. grrrrrr.
Thanks for the help though. You got me past the first hump.
David, shit that sounds like a lot of legwork just to get the game working; thank you for sharing for other folks running into the same issue though.
Thank God for you.
well thank you
OMG Thank so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
best!!!!!! T-H-A-N-K-S!!!!!!!!!!!
OMG THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love you!!!!!!!
T-H-A-N-K-S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!