They're pretty easy to pirate, all all online features goes via steam API, the crackers just replace those libraries with code that doesn't call back to steam. You'll get a locally running game, including proton and all of steams advantages without any of the drawbacks.
Just remember to backup your save files as you will no longer have access to steam cloud.
Its inevitable and it pays to be prepared
Just remember to backup your save files as you will no longer have access to steam cloud.